Woman uses art that helped her through chemo to help others battling cancer

MIDDLETON, Wis. (WMTV) - In 2018, Allana Randall moved to Taiwan to teach English. But her adventure abroad soon took her back to Wisconsin after a cancer diagnosis in December of 2019.

Randall moved home to Middleton with her family and began treatment in 2020, undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While in treatment, Randall used her love of art and painting as an outlet.

“It helped me a lot through my treatment because I would have a good week, then I would have a bad week,” she said. “On my good weeks, I could paint and have more energy to do that.”

Painting also gave her something safe she could do during the pandemic, right at home.

“I was severely immunocompromised when I was going through cancer, so I needed to stay away from people and really limit who I was seeing,” she said. “Art was a good way for me to just be creative and spend my time productively at home.”

Randall said she always loved art, but never expected to turn her passion into anything more than a hobby. When she started making stickers for her friends, however, their popularity propelled her to keep making more.

“I started creating artwork when I was going through chemo for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that was the summer of 2020,” she said. “I never really expected for it to grow like this, but people really liked my artwork so I kept making it, and it’s gotten a lot bigger than I expected it to be.”

Now, Randall has her own small business called 10 by 10 gallery, inspired by her favorite store in Taiwan, a stationary shop called 9x9. She creates paintings, stickers, pendants, and other items with inspirational messages and positive designs, which she sells online and at various markets and events in the Madison area.

Her designs feature messages such as “Cancer Succs” with succulent and cactus illustrations, watercolor tea pots overflowing with flowers, and multicolor stickers reading “not today cancer” and “The club you never chose to be a part of.” Money from the sales of those works go towards cancer research.

“For every item that I sell, one dollar is donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, that’s about 50% of my profit is donated,” she said. “The rest of it I invest into making more. It kind of has helped me grow, being able to donate part and also invest back in and grow as a small business.”

Randall said one of the most rewarding experiences when she is out at markets and fairs with her goods is meeting and connecting with others. She said watching a customer pick up a sticker with a message related to cancer can be a conversation starter.

“It’s such an interesting spot to speak with strangers about things that are really difficult to talk about,” she said. “Normally we don’t share those things, they’re very personal. To be able to share it with someone, it takes that weight off. We can talk about it, it’s pretty amazing.”

Randall with be at the Madison Night Market on October 22. For more information about her products, click here. She is now in remission.

Copyright 2021 WMTV. All rights reserved.