Sprucing Up the Place
I’m sorry I am a bit late getting this out today. I have, unfortunately been spending a lot of time at the hospital where my mom is laid up with a fracture of the spine and also at the family home where my dear father is valiantly fighting the vagaries of dementia made more difficult by my mother’s absence. So this week my timing might be off but we’ll get everything done as needed including sending out beautiful things to admire every other day.
I do wish hospitals had a bit more color, don’t you? The care my mother is getting is absolutely wonderful but there is nothing on the walls anywhere but the lobby at this hospital. I was thinking some wonderfully colorful polymer art would be just the thing so I thought I’d just ponder what might really spruce such a place up. This intriguing piece by Alev Gozonar would just be so lovely in the halls or, better yet, in the room. The rich autumn colors of the fluttering leaves so beautifully contrast with those strong lines made from steel cable. It would be something lovely to contemplate besides the TV and all the machines one has around the bed.
Well, I can dream that someone someday will turn hospital rooms into galleries of art but in the meantime, I am off to find a cheerful flowering plant I can take to my mother, the retired horticulturist and to pick up my dad’s favorite candy, licorice, to bring him some good cheer as well. And a bottle of port for myself for later. We do need to take care of ourselves as well as all those that need us!
For more beautiful wall art work by Alev, visit her website or her Facebook page.
Inspirational Challenge of the Day: Design or create a piece of wall art specifically to brighten up a place in your house you don’t usually hang art in such as a bathroom or a garage, maybe even in closet. What colors, imagery and textures would positively change the atmosphere and make one smile when they opened the door or walked in?
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I love this post, Sage! And I can sympathize with the bland walls that your dear mother is staring at in the hospital.
When I got my first apartment after college, I looked around and indeed my walls needed ‘sprucing up’. Of course the budget was tiny (non-existent), but I wanted original art and as a new ‘grown up’, desperately wanted to leave the ‘posters’ behind. It hit me then that perhaps I could make something! Although my degree was in business, I’d spent the first two years of university studying fine art/conceptual art (always assuming I’d grow up to be an artist) and had taken many art courses throughout childhood.
But after several years of not having done ANY art (I get so consumed with it that it’s all or nothing for me… there is no way I could have done it as a hobby AND kept my corporate paycheck job/career), I was mortified about creating something for even my own walls. Could I still be creative? What if I failed? What would that do to my self-image, self-esteem? Yikes!
But, I had an idea and I created it using watercolors and found objects. I had a blast doing it and was relatively pleased with my effort. The real boost came when I took the piece to be framed and a couple of women gathered around the island at the frame shop and started oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over my work. I noticed a smudge and took out my eraser to erase it and the store manager admonished me that ‘only the artist can make alterations to the piece and that I should leave the smudge’. When I explained that I was the ‘artist’, she stood back and seemed a bit surprised. Wow – what a rush. I hung that piece proudly in my apartment.
Today, having the very good fortune to be able to finally get back into creating and making, albeit 35 years later than I would have liked, I’m still creating work that is within the same concept of that piece I did for my apartment. Instead of found objects, polymer clay has exploded the options wide open and totally changed my ‘process’. My primary focus is wall-art (i.e. not jewelry) and I proudly hang my pieces in my home when they aren’t on display elsewhere. They make me happy and I enjoy looking at them. They bring me joy. Of course I have work by other artists that I’ve collected over the years and from far flung travels that I admire, but I humbly admit that I really like my own work, too. Are we allowed to say that out loud?
What a great story! Thank you for sharing it.
Sending prayers your way for the recovery and care of your parents. Bless you for being a caring daughter.
Your care of your parents now will mean no regrets in your future. I know this personally. We will be patient in the meantime.
At the University of Michigan Hospital they have a program that allows patients to pick out a piece of art once a week to hang on their wall. A volunteer comes around with a big cart. All of the artwork for this and much of what hangs in the hallways, lobby areas, etc. is donated through their “gift of art” program. Some areas have changing exhibits, some are permanent. Maybe when you have time you can check it out on line. Meanwhile hoping for the best for you and your parents.
What a wonderful program! It’s good to know that some out there are attending to their spirits, lifting them with art.