Art on Millionaire's Row: 'I Make Art Out of Drugs'

"I make art out of drugs," she said simply.

She had my attention. I stepped forward and took a closer look. Sure enough, it wasn't rubies or precious stones on the necklaces, but colorful prescription pills of all shapes and sizes. 

You may have heard of Susan Braig before. She's been featured in the Los Angeles Times, on numerous local TV news stations and even here on Patch.

The Altadena resident and freelance grant writer, after a successful bout with breast cancer, used her art as a means of activism for health care reform. The jewelry at her booth at the Art on Millionaire's Row event at the Altadena Library on Saturday made a powerful, ironic and sad statement, which is that health care has become a luxury item for many in America.

"I was inspired when I was starting chemotherapy, and I thought I had insurance," Braig said. "I went to fill a prescription for anti-nausea pills, and it cost $100 per pill. And I looked at these little pills and I said, I could buy a ruby or an emerald for this. And it triggered an idea with jewelry, instead of studded with precious stones, studded with prescription drugs."

Braig's jewelry line, Designer Drugs Jewelry, has not only helped her pay off some medical bills, but it got her statewide and national attention from several health care reform organizations. She has been flown out to Washington D.C. twice by Health Care for America Now! and has participated in protests and forums where she met senators and other congressional leaders.

"When I got the cancer diagnosis, I was pretty much wondering if I was going to die. And instead I just started life all over again and finally had a voice. It was just amazing," Braig said.

Braig told me that at events like Art on Millionaire's Row, it helps a lot to talk to people as they pass by and get their attention. It certainly worked on me. 

"Most people walk buy and scan it and they go, 'Oh, just more jewelry.' But if I explain, they say, 'No way.' And then they look closely and they say, 'How did you come up with this idea?' And I tell them the story, and it goes from there," Braig said. 

To learn more about Designer Drugs Jewelry, visit Braig's Facebook page.