Health Care Fine Art

Getting the Most from this Blog

This blog has grown over the last year-and-a-half. There are over 540 "posts" (short articles) on the website. Some of the articles may be of no interest to you; on weekends I often write about personal stuff that might not have anything to do with the use of Art in HeatlhCare. Here are five tips to help you find what you need quickly:

1. Use the Search Feature
2. Look at the Table of Contents
   
3. Don't miss Older Posts
4. Leave and Read Comments
5. Use Hyperlinks

Search Feature

If there is a topic or person you are looking for, type it into the Search field on the upper right. For example, if you type in "Budget" dozens of references to budget on the blog appear.

Table of Contents

One problem with blogs is that they are arranged by time rather than by subject. The newest posts are always at the top. To help narrow down your search, I created a table of contents. You can find it on the upper right hand side of the page.

If you click the on the word "Interview" you will see a list of the leaders in HealthCare that I have interviewed.

Older Posts

No more than ten posts can appear on one page of this website. But older articles are still there. To see them, when you get to the very bottom of a page be sure to press the >> icon with an underline under it.

Leave a Comment

One way blogs are different than other websites is that they allow readers to leave comments. This can lead to some pretty interesting discussions. To read those discussions you need to click the word "comments" found at the bottom of every post.

If you have an opinion on a topic, please leave a comment. Click here to see an explanation about how to leave comments.

Use Hyperllinks

If you see underlined text, that probably means it is a "Hyperlink". If you put your cursor over the text and cick, you are taken to a website that goes into greater depth on that topic. For example in ther paragraph above this one, I added a hyperlink to the words "Click here."

The Guild Sourcebook, Volume 23

Yesterday the UPS truck showed up with a box containing the latest edition of the Guild Sourcebook of Architectural and Interior Art. This is now Volume 23.

The book is a rich visual reference for those seeking art for healthcare. This year the book features 11 artists that are "Moving Toward Green". I'm happy to say that they asked me to be one of those artists (see p. 250).

To learn more about The Guild Sourcebooks, I interviewed Jenna Brandt in May 2007:

What is unique about your service?

The Guild represents more than 1,200 top artists working in media from glass, sculpture, and prints to furniture, lighting, and jewelry. The Guild Sourcebooks offer a professional and comprehensive marketing package to artists while working to connect the design trade with professional artists and their work. Our Sourcebooks have resulted in thousands of new art commissions for public and private spaces.

How are artists selected for inclusion?

Artists either contact The Guild or The Guild contacts artist about participation in The Guild Sourcebooks. Once an artist has made the decision to participate, a space reservation is made. All artists are then juried into the Sourcebooks based both on quality of artwork and photography. Our jury is comprised of design and art professionals as well as The Guild’s design, production, marketing, and trade professional relations staff members.

Do you have a sense of what percentage of your readers are involved with HealthCare Design?

We have a large number of interior designers, architects, and art consultants who work in healthcare design.  We find that these professionals are interested in both of our books - The Guild Sourcebook of Architectural & Interior Art for public areas, both indoor and out; and The Guild Sourcebook of Residential Art for smaller-scale work for patient rooms and other private areas.

How many copies are printed?

10,000 copies are distributed annually to a select list of North American architects, interior designers, art consultants, public art administrators, landscape architects, liturgical consultants, and other design professionals. This publication showcases site-specific architectural and interior artworks for public, corporate, healthcare, hospitality, and liturgical spaces.

The Guild Sourcebook of Architectural & Interior Art Published each fall since 1985

How many artists are represented?

On average, about 250 artists are represented in each publication.

If someone isn't getting the "book" now, how could they request it?

To register as a Design Professional visit:
www.guild.com/servlet/Guild/AuthenticateDesignPros

Registering as a Design Professional with The Guild is FREE, and allows password-protected access to portions of our website specifically for design professionals. Benefits of registration include:

• Annual editions of Guild Sourcebooks
• Exclusive design professional discount of 15% on all purchases made at www.artfulhome.com
• Direct email access to hundreds of Guild artists
• “Post-a-Project” for instant broadcast of project opportunities directly to Guild artists

 Is there a website that shows the artists?

All current Sourcebook artists are online.  You can view both The Guild Sourcebook of Architectural & Interior Art and The Guild Sourcebook of Residential Art page-for-page in Guild's Custom Design Center at www.guild.com/cdc.

For artists who might be interested in receiving more information. you can contact:
Jenna Brandt
Guild Sourcebooks

The Guild, Inc.
Toll Free: 800.930.1856
jbrandt@guild.com
www.guild.com/cdc

Evidence-based Design Under Attack

Evidence-based Design criticized

World Health Design's premier issue (April 2008) has an article introduced by Dr. Jacqueline Vischer comparing Evidence-based Design (EBD) to Research-based Design. Since selecting art for healthcare is increasingly based on Evidence-based Design, I wanted to know more.

Dr. Vischer writes:

The dark side of EBD is that time and other practical limitations might have ethical implications, leading to a compromise of research protocol or erroneous methods of data collection and analysis.

... it is important, therefore, not to substitute it for conventional research

After reading the article I could not understand how Evidence-based Design differs from conventional research (also known as Research-based Design). Because I was unable to reach Dr. Vischer I asked an EBD researcher to comment:

Dr. Xiaobo Quan writes:

The discussion around EBD has revealed again that different people may have different definitions and opinions about the same term or concept. In my personal opinion, these are the same thing. EBD is research-based.

To read the full article click here. This will download a PDF of the April 2008 World Health Design. This article starts on page 16.

Jacqueline Visher, PhD is Professor of design, University of Montréal.

Xiaobo Quan, PhD is a researcher at the Center for Health Design

New Journal: World Health Design

July 2008 Cover of "Design for Health" CLICK TO SEE LARGER IMAGE

World Health Design (WHD) is a new journal published by The International Academy for Design and Health. To learn more about it I interviewed Marc Sansom, the Marketing and Communications Director by email. Marc is based Essex, England.

Is there a plan to have articles about the use of Art in HealthCare?

Art in healthcare is a hugely important topic, and often underestimated by decision-makers in respect of its contribution to the health and wellbeing of patients, staff and families in the healthcare environment. We will be providing coverage of this key topic in WHD, but also hope to work with partners on supplement reports and publishing projects to promote the research and practice being done in the field.

Who is the intended audience?

Design & Health is a global knowledge community with an international interdisciplinary network of health planners, architects, designers, engineers, health managers, clinicians, nurses, health scientists, psychologists, constructors and industrialists working in research and practice in government, academia and business. The audience of WHD reflects the make-up of this network.

If someone wanted to subscribe, how do they sign up? What does it cost?

Subscription offers are available for both individuals and teams across one or two years and offer great value for money. To subscribe, either download a subscription form from www.designandhealth.com or
e-mail marc@designandhealth.com for a form.

How often does it come out?

World Health Design is published four times a year, but we hope to publish bimonthly in 2010.

The second issue is just going to press, is that right?

The second issue has been published and distributed. The third issue goes to press in October.

How many different countries is it being mailed to?

The readership is truly global and coverage is provided across all the major continents of the world in both the developed and developing world.

What is the website for the magazine?

Information on the magazine is available at the web site for the International Academy for Design & Health: www.designandhealth.com

We are, however, also in development of a new, modern and interactive web site platform for both World Health Design and the International Academy for Design & Health, which we hope will be launched by the end of September.

Anything else you would like to say about this new Journal?

World Health Design is the most exciting publishing project in the field in its unique attempt to bridge the gap between research and practice to an interdisciplinary audience at an international level, and we welcome anyone who wishes to support our ambitions, either as contributors or through advertising and sponsorship to join us in achieving this ambition.

What's the 'correct' price for art?

Is it only art if it costs a lot of money?

Conclusion:
There is no perfect answer on how to price art. You can perform elaborate calculations and comparisons with your competitors, but in the end you just have to wing it.

Deciding what to charge for art is very difficult for most artists, especially as they are getting started. Beginning artists are so happy that anyone would be willing to display their work that they almost give it away.

Being associated with a gallery or art consultant can help a lot; they understand the market. Often they suggest pricing that is much higher than artist/photographer would pick. But of course they usually takes 50% of the sale price.

Several years ago, as I was starting I sought the advice of some experts. One suggested a pricing structure that was bizarrely complex. It required a spreadsheet to do very complex calculations such as the number of views-per-day and the length of time the art would be on display. This did not fly with my clients. I've settled in on a simple formula that considers only two things: size and what the art is printed on.

Another expert suggested that I put off discussions of pricing until the very end, even if people ask for it. The thinking was that you want to generate mystique as the client is becoming enthusiastic about your work; then negotiate. This did not work at all for me. I was getting several calls a day just asking for pricing. In the end I decided to post my prices (which are non-negotiable) on my website: click here for current price sheet.

How often to change your pricing is another concern. One person told me that I should raise my prices 10% per year no matter what. This creates the illusion that the art was appreciating in value. However, if you look at the "after-market" pricing on fine art, it almost never goes up. Only brand names in art have prices that appreciate, and then not until after the artist dies. I've decided to simply hold my prices steady unless I can see a good reason to change.

One book that I read (Profitable Photography in the Digital Age) summarized pricing well by saying: "... the reality [of pricing] is and always will be an amorphous  concept that we will never really grasp. You just have to get better at it without expecting to perfect it."

Not All Spiders are Creepy

Golden Jumping Spider (Eris aurantia) male - CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

I know it's going to be hard to convince you of this, but not all spiders are creepy. Jumping Spiders (like the one above) behave differently than other spiders, they move more like a cat.

They tilt their heads in ways that seem natural to us; bending it and looking up at us as we peer down at them. Somehow that movement and eye contact makes them seem less threatening (and they are totally harmless).

I know that spiders are one kind of animal that should never be shown in hospitals. And yes, most spiders are creepy. But this afternoon while walking down the stairs I saw this guy and so I went and grabbed my camera.

In college I actually kept a jumping spider as a pet. Really...

Would Universal Health Care mean no art?

There is a boom in healthcare construction in the US. That has resulted in a surge of demand for healthcare art. What would happen to the healthcare art market if political forces brought us Universal HealthCare?

My best guess: Universal HealthCare would cause no change in the high demand for healthcare art or healthcare construction.

If you look at countries that offer universal health coverage (which includes every developed nation on earth except the US) you will see that they continue to fund the purchase of art for healthcare. Some countries (such as Norway) require that 1% of the construction cost be spent on Art.

The idea for this post was triggered when reading this week's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The lead article is called "Coverage for All Americans". They write:

Since 47 million Americans lack health insurance and many others have inadequate coverage, we wanted to explore how the presidential candidates propose to provide health care for all Americans while controlling costs and maintaining quality.

A free and fascinating online video discussing this topic can be found by clicking here.

The New England Journal of Medicine is the most highly respected medical journal in the US.

Bloedel Reserve - a Healing Garden

Bench along a path at Bloedel Reserve

This morning I found the perfect healing garden: the Bloedel Reserve. I spent a few hours on the grounds walking the soft bark-covered trails. It was magical and I felt that if ever there were a healing garden, this is it; I felt at peace.

I'm not the only one who thinks that. While I was at the visitor center I bumped into Sally Schauman, FASLA. She was doing research for a talk she is going to give tomorrow night called "Healing in Nature". She told me that Prentice Bloedel (the founder) created a healing garden before people ever talked about such things.

I wish I could hear Sally's talk but unfortunately we are flying back to Missouri in the morning. Perhaps I can get the text of the speech to share on this blog.

The person who has implemented the vision of Mr. Bloedel is Richard Brown. Dick is the Executive Director of the Reserve and has managed it for more than two decades. Recently when accepting the 2008 Award for Garden Excellence, Dick said:

It is a place, unlike most public gardens, that minimizes its messages to its visitors. Rather, it provides a high-quality environment within which the visitors are given ample opportunity to receive messages from nature.

That message came through loud and clear today!

Note: FASLA means Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects

A few days in Seattle

Twin Falls State Park

Lorna and I are spending a few days in Seattle this week. The main reason for the trip is to get some ideas about how to manage the Prairie Garden Trust for the long haul. Much of the work we are doing with the landscape won't be fully apparent for 50 or 100 years. We want to learn from others how they are trying to reach long-term goals.

There is a private garden on Bainbridge Island that has some similar goals. It is called Bloedel Reserve.

In addition to some time there I'm also getting in some photography. For example, this morning at dawn we headed to the trail at Twin Falls State Park. We spent 3 wonderful hours hiking along the Snoqualmie river. I've attached one of the pictures I took along the trail to this post.

Featured Artist: Byron Jorjorian

257_5746 by Byron Jorjorian

My twin sister gives me good tips on new artists. She has to find them for her Interior Design work. A couple of years ago she showed me the wonderful nature photographs of  Byron Jorjorian. He has a large selection of works on his website. Images range from Landscapes and Florals to Sand Dunes and Waterfalls. Very diverse and very high quality.

Many of his images would work well in a HealthCare setting. The prices, especially for his smaller prints are quite good.

His website says this about him:

Fine art photographer, Byron Jorjorian has been capturing the natural world on film for over 30 years. With over 210,000 images in his files, his photographs have appeared on nationally published greeting cards, calendars, magazines, posters, murals, fine art prints, brochures, and advertising. Byron has had over 10,000 images published.

To learn more about his work, his webstite is:www.byronjorjorian.com
Byron Jorjorian Photography
PO Box 306
Thompson's Station, TN 37179
615-599-9823