Janvi Shahi poses with a self-portrait. Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish North Texas.
When Janvi Shahi was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 2, explaining her pain levels was difficult. So she turned to art.
Shahi, who now lives in Lower Greenville and works as a designer at The Integer Group, would select a color and draw a spiral to show her mom and medical staff how she was feeling that day. If the pain was tolerable, the color might be bright. But on a bad day, she’d select a dark or dull one.
Because of her diagnosis, Make-A-Wish granted her a wish. She decided to go to Disney World.
“While I was going through my treatment, my radiation and whatnot, I would always watch Disney movies to help pass the time. And I was a huge, huge Lion King fan,” Shahi said. “I used to say that I was Simba, my body was the pride lands, and my cancer was Uncle Scar that I was trying to defeat.”
She beat the cancer, but it relapsed a couple of years later. It was stronger this time, so Shahi and her family moved to North Carolina for treatment.
Around the time she was 5 years old, Shahi started taking private art lessons, with an instructor coming to the hospital. Once she was able to move back home, teachers visited her there.
“Art was something that I always really enjoyed doing, and it was something that helped my mood and helped me get through the day,” she said.
Shahi decided to give back to the organization that had helped her and began donating her art to Make-A-Wish.
She typically paints with acrylic or oil paint and finds inspiration on social media. Much of her work depicts flowers and landscapes, and she sometimes paints portraits.
A young Janvi Shahi with her art. Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish North Texas.
Over time, she has given countless pieces of art to the nonprofit, raising more than $100,000 used to grant wishes for other kids. It was difficult for her to create art while she was a student at Savannah College of Art and Design, but since she graduated, she is creating and donating again.
This year, she collaborated with Jason McCann, the CEO of Vari, to create “Dreams.” Together, Shahi and McCann spent more than 100 hours making the 5-by-6 textured art piece on wood that will be auctioned at the Wish Night gala on May 13.
“For me to be able to raise enough money to grant not one but multiple wishes to help other kids get through their time just means a lot, that I can help give back,” Shahi said.
