Grace from Grit: An Original Oyster by artist Jennifer Dunlap

Bid to support the Type 1 Diabetes Think Tank and Documenting Hope’s work on identifying the root causes of children’s chronic health conditions!

My oyster collection is a reflection of resilience and grace — a reminder that beauty is often born from challenge.

Just as a single grain of sand, a small irritant, settles inside the shell of an oyster, life often brings us moments of discomfort or storms that test our strength. Yet, rather than allowing that irritation to destroy it, the oyster transforms it into something radiant and precious — a pearl.

In the same way, God gives us the opportunity to take our struggles and turn them into triumphs, to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Each oyster in my collection tells that story — a symbol of faith, transformation, and the quiet miracles that emerge when we trust the process and allow grace to work from within.

Every pearl begins with a grain of sand.

To an oyster, that small grain is an irritant: something unwanted and hard to live with. But the oyster doesn’t let the hardship destroy it. Layer by layer, it turns the grit into something beautiful. A pearl.

Artist Jennifer Dunlap, one of our Documenting Hope parent volunteers, built her Grace from Grit collection around that idea. In her words, the collection reflects how “beauty is often born from challenge.” Each piece stands for faith and transformation. It’s a reminder that our struggles can become triumphs, and that grace can do its quiet work from the inside when we trust the process.

Why this piece belongs to our community

Our families know grit. Parents of children with chronic illness live with the diagnosis no one wanted, the appointments that bring no answers, and the long nights of researching and hoping. Many have been told there is nothing more to do beyond managing symptoms.

And yet, over and over, we see these families turn hardship into something remarkable. They become advocates and researchers. They learn things they never expected to need to know. Sometimes they find healing pathways no one handed them. That is grace from grit, and it’s why Jennifer Dunlap’s painting means so much to us.

About the auction

This is a live auction, and the painting goes to the highest bidder.

Artwork: Grace from Grit, an original hand-painted oyster from the collection by Jennifer Dunlap
Size: 24 x 30
Bidding closes: Sunday, November 22, 5:00 p.m. ET
Starting bid: $500

Bid early and check back often. When bidding closes, the highest bid wins this one-of-a-kind piece.

Where your bid goes

Every dollar raised supports Documenting Hope’s Type 1 Diabetes Think Tank on November 20. The Think Tank brings together clinicians, researchers and families to explore what more is possible for children living with Type 1 diabetes.

Funds will also support Documenting Hope’s CHIRP study, to better understand the root causes and environmental factors contributing to Type 1 Diabetes onset.

When you bid, you aren’t only taking home a beautiful work of art. You’re helping turn grit into grace for children and families who need it.

For more information visit: AUCTION — JENNIFER DUNLAP

Please place your bid!

Grace from Grit - Health & Healing Expo by Documenting Hope

By Artist Jennifer Dunlap