Health Care Fine Art

Botanica - Architectural Glass for Healthcare

Skyline Design has recently introduced a new line of architectural glass featuring the work of three artists. I'm especially interested since I am one of them. The other two artists are Zeva Oelbaum and Steven Meyers.

This newest line of glass is targeted at the Healtcare market. The nature theme that is suggested in it's name (Botanica) should fit well in many healthcare interiors.

To learn more about this glass, click here.

Skyline has sales representatives all over North America. Those representatives can arrange to show you the glass in person. To find out how to set this up, the contact information for Skyline is:

Skyline Design Headquarters
888-278-4660
1240 North Homan Ave.
Chicago IL 60651
www.skydesign.com

The Guild Sourcebook - Now Online & Free

The Guild Sourcebook just went online. The Guild Sourcebook connects the design trade with professional artists and their work. If you are involved with the use of Art in HealthCare, this is an essential reference. 

To see The Guild Sourcebook online: click here

The printed version is great. Filled with large full-color images, you can really see what the art looks like. But it is much more convenient to just look things up on the web, even if the pictures can't match the quality of the printed page. Plus, the website is free and open to all. 

The website is particularly easy to use. It opens up with a full table of contents, all with hyperlink to the different categories:

• Architectural Glass
• Architectural Elements
• Atrium Sculpture
• Public Art
• Non-Representational Sculpture
• Representational Sculpture
• Liturgical Art
• Lighting & Furniture
• Murals, Tiles & Wall Reliefs
• Paintings & Prints
• Fine Art Photography
• Metal Wall Art
• Mixed & Other Media Wall Art
• Fiber Art

You can also search for artists by name. Click here

I covered the print version of The Guild Sourcebook just a few weeks ago. Click here

Featured Artist: Elizabeth Carmel

Elizabeth Carmel. Picture 11/32 in her Autumn Series One

Elizabeth Carmel's nature photographs should work well in many hospitals. Her website shows a wide range of classic landscapes with deeply saturated colors. Her locations tend to be in her home state of California and other western states; but she also has work from Hawaii and Tuscany.

The intense color saturation of many of her pictures reminds me of the look of Velvia. Velvia is a film made by Fuji that used to be favored by many nature photographers because of its rich colors.

I asked Elizabeth about her experience with Healthcare installations:

I have done a number of art installations, including the Tahoe Forest Hospital and Cancer Center in Truckee, CA. and an orthodontic office in Reno, NV. I am happy to work with art consultants who specialize in health care facilities, they can contact me via my website. My husband and I also operate a 2500 square foot art gallery in Truckee, Ca. near Lake Tahoe.

To see more of Elizabeth's work her website is www.elizabethcarmel.com

Thanks to Kevin Sink for introducing me to her work.

Outdoor Photography - Landscape Annual

The May issue of Outdoor Photographer came in the mail today. This is their annual "Landscape" issue. If you are thinking of using some landscape photographs in a hospital installation it would be worth looking at the four photographers that they highlight. Here are links to their websites:

• Jack Dykinga
• Carr Clifton
• Tom Till    
• David Muench

One thing that surprised me about the images printed in the magazine is predominance of the color orange. Many of the images are of the desert Southwest. Proponents of Evidence-based art say that for healthcare that a lush green landscape is best.

To learn more about Outdoor Photographer magazine, click here.

Botanica Video - Skyline Design

3-minute video showing Zeva Oelbaum and Henry Domke discussing their collaboration with Skyline Design on the new line of architectural glass for Healthcare called "Botanica" There is an earlier post about Botanica which you can see by clicking here.

Featured Artist: Jonathan Clowes

Reflections by Jonathan Clowes, photo is courtesy of MediaWright

Stacey Lindell is a friend of mine who has been the artistic manager for Jonathan Clowes for several years. I know that Jonathan's sculpture is often used in healthcare settings, so I asked Stacey to tell me a little about the sculpture pictured above.

"Reflections"  was commissioned by St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The hospital was seeking an inviting, contemplative piece for the small mediation room they were building in their new facility.  The room was an intimate circular space with a bold terrazzo floor design.  We incorporated the base of the sculpture to fit within the stylized geometry of the floor.  The hospital was a good partner in defining the scale and gesture they wanted for the artwork.  The committee was drawn to our use of nurturing gestures within our work and asked us to build upon that quality for their artwork.  The piece is installed into a pedestal of Indiana Limestone.  We had the pedestal carved for us in Indiana so, an aspect of the artwork is quite local to the region.  The sculpture is fabricated from composite and a bronze surface with a hand blown glass sphere in the center.  Overall the entire artwork is just under 10' in height, with a minimal footprint. 
 
The committee from St. Vincent's were enthusiastic about incorporating our work into their space.  Through the assistance of Soni Kercheval from InSite Art Consulting, we were commissioned directly for the project.  This was not a competition situation but a direct dialogue between the client and artist. St. Vincent's made good suggestions and timely decisions which benefited the design and our ability to realize this sculpture within a short time frame.  The collaboration between the hospital, the art consultant, and our studio was very successful.  The project is a credit to good vision and investment on everyone's part.  The sculpture serves as a steady, calming centerpiece in the meditation room.  Its purpose of providing the viewer with a soothing, beautiful artwork to contemplate was of paramount importance to the client and our studio.  "Reflections" offers a brief respite from the anxiety or turmoil a patient or loved one may be experiencing during their stay at the hospital.  This purpose is a key mission for the work that is realized out of Clowes Sculpture Studio.  We value the inclusion of art that can assist in all manners of healing for patients, families, staff, and doctors. It is an honor to be a part of this process.

To see more of Jonathan's work, his website is: www.clowessculpture.com

Stacey Lindell is the artistic manager for Clowes Sculpture in New Hampshire. She wrote an excellent post on this blog two years ago called "Tips on picking sculpture". To read it click here

Featured Artist: Mike Moats

Kerry Farrell's installation of Mike Moats art at the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

Kerry Farrel suggested that I do a post on Mike Moats. This is what she emailed me:

Mike Moats is another great photographer I worked with on HFHS. His website is www.tinylandscapes.com He's a great guy. I attached a few installation shots of his work. I had it installed on box frames.

Mike is a nature photographer from Sterling Heights, Michigan. He has had a lot of work published in magazines and books. I asked him about his work in Heatlhcare settings:

I have been successful with my work in the area of publishing through nature photography related magazines, the art show circuit, conducting workshops, and the success with my first book,  but the West Bloomfield Henry Ford Hospital is my first experience in the health care art industry.

I suspect his close shots of nature will find their way into future healthcare projects.

Kerry Farrell is an art consultant with Health Environment Art Services. She focuses on the serving clients in Michigan.

Featured Artist: Bob Ross

Bob Ross: The most famous artist on the face of the earth!

Last weekend when I was reading "The Accidental Masterpiece" by Michael Kimmelman I came across a chapter dealing with the virtues of being an amateur. 

According to Kimmelman (the chief art critic at the New York Times)

Even now, years after his death in 1995...Bob Ross may still be the most famous artist on the face of the earth...

He is not only famous, but his landscapes adhere to the ideas put forth by the proponents of Evidence-based Art. Most of the 30,000 paintings he completed in his life would be perfect for display in a hospital. Who would not like is "happy little trees" or his "happy little clouds"?

Connoisseurs of art will view this suggestion with horror; this work is pure kitsch. However, as I've suggested before: Kitsch Can Work.

I've never seen a Bob Ross video, but I enjoyed a similar TV show by Jon Gnagy in the late 50's and early 60's. Perhaps that helped influence my decision to be an artist.

The Bob Ross website is: www.bobross.com

Wikipedia has an entry on Bob Ross: click here

Featured Artist: Mark Graf

Red-eyed Tree Frog by Mark Graf

Mark Graf is a prolific nature photographer. He has everything from wildlife shots to abstracts, flowers and landscapes. These images are wonderfully displayed on his website: www.grafphoto.com

I've looked at a lot of photographers websites and I have to say his is unusually easy to navigate. It has one of the of the best layouts I've ever seen.

I contacted Mark to see if any of his work had been installed in healthcare settings and he wrote back:

I do have my work installed at Henry Ford West Bloomfield here in Michigan which is a premier new hospital in this area - promoting activities and trying to cater to healthy people, not just those that need a hospital.   My work is also in a mental health facility in Kansas and under consideration for a few other local health care projects.
I wrote about the recent installation: click here

Minor complaint: He watermarks all of his images online (like the one above). I've written before about why that bothers me. Click here. 

Featured Artist: Molly Lipsher

"Far Out" Bishop, CA by Molly Lipsher, 12 x 24-inches, pastel

Molly Lipsher grew up in Connecticut and has a masters degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard, but today she lives as a pastel artist in Southern California. The landscapes he creates would be perfect in a healthcare setting.

Writing about her work she says:

I believe places have a perceptible soul. In my paintings, I attempt to interpret that soul, the elusive convergence of light, location and time, that makes each place and moment unique. It is this aspect of place, however unatainable and impossible to duplicate in art, that continues to inspire me as an artist.  

To see more of Molly's work, here website is www.MollyLipsher.com
Molly Lipsher Studios
1378 Summit Avenue
Cardiff, CA 92007

760-230-2078