Written by Lauren Rabb | Curator | TMC Healing Art Program
Art PROGRAM Healing
1,000th work of art celebration a joyous occasion
About 100 guests attended the 1,000th Work of Art Celebration on October 10 in the Women of Honor Courtyard. We thanked donors, musicians and artists who have made this program successful, and unveiled our spectacular 1,000th work: a triptych of rondo photographs taken through the trees north of the Grand Canyon by Dr. Larry Haas – one of the original founders of Tucson Orthopaedic Institute. At the moment we dramatically pulled the cover off the artwork, a beam of light crossed directly into the center
Visual thinking strategies for new nurse grads
We have completed two rounds of Visual Thinking Strategies training (VTS) for new nurse grads. The purpose of VTS is to work out the best methods for engagement, improving observation, enhancing communication skills and helping clinicians get comfortable with ambiguity. The program is generally well-received, but it is far outside most students’ experiences. For every new nurse that loves it, there’s another that’s asking us, “Why?!” We won’t know how effective it is until we’ve had the opportunity to re-engage former students and see if VTS made a difference in their working habits. But it’s a lot of fun, and personally, I’m inspired by how an audience of nurses can find connections to medicine in almost any work of art!
photograph, adding a real moment of “ahhh” to our event! This beautiful work is now located in the Hall of Giving.
Healing Art Program 1,000th Work of Art Celebration | © Jim Marten, TMC Communications
Lauren Rabb teaching VTS to new nurse graduates | © Jacquelyn Feller
staff reactions Patient &
Iwanted to let you know that the day after surgery at TMC this past May, I was lying in bed with my eyes closed when I heard the most wonderful classical guitar music wafting into my room from the hallway outside the door.
Being a musician myself, I recognized the music being played as some of my favorite classical pieces and started humming along. The act of physically getting involved with the music suddenly caused my whole body to sob – tears of joy, release of pain, and healing. The music was the perfect energy to assist my body after going through the ordeal of surgery. Although the surgery was a great success, and each TMC staff person who touched my life during my stay seemed like they were on divine missions to assist me, the guitar music was an incredible experience and I will never forget it.
– A grateful patient, July 30, 2018
Ivolunteer in the Vascular Lab, which is across the hall from Nuclear Medicine, and I see that there are such beautiful watercolors in the hallway. I believe they just went up. Everyone in our department really likes them.
So, thank you so much.
– Roseann Milano, Dec. 3, 2018
TMC Orthopaedic Tower
Two tributes to long and happy marriages
Artist Shirley Wagner wanted to make art for TMC to honor her husband, Cardiologist Marius Wagner, who passed away in 2017. She began playing with figurative works that bend, stretch and dance across the canvas – perfect inspiration for patients in the TMC Orthopaedic Tower. These works, now enlarged to a five-foot height, hang across from the elevators in the tower and add a lively sense of movement to the hallway. Look closely, and you’ll find little references to Dr. Wagner hidden in the figures.
Further down the hall, is the work of husband and wife artists Harry Lee and Nancy Hardin Brorby. They passed away in recent years, and their children donated a large number of works to the TMC Healing Art Program. Four of Harry’s soft and quiet desert landscapes now hang surrounded by about a dozen of Nancy’s fanciful flowers and insects. Keeping their work together in the hospital honors their unique bond and partnership.
hallway, showing works by Shirley Wagner | © Robin Stancliff
Nancy Hardin Brorby floral artwork | © Robin Stancliff
Donor update
Donors are the heartbeat of this program! As usual, we have many to thank.
Watercolor artist Sarah Schmerl donated seven beautiful works, most of which are hanging now in Taylor Hall. Larry Cansler, whose wife Lynn is a nurse at TMC, donated a dynamic oil on canvas.
Collectors who have donated works since our last newsletter include: Hal Myers, Douglas Hunt (with David Katz), Kim and Don Bourn, Cyndi Meisaichi, and Shelley McGrew.
We’ve welcomed four new photographers to our ranks: Vicki Dell, Stacy Law, and the soon-to-beseen Laura Lipke and Brandy Stone.
Our long-awaited piano has arrived at the entrance to the TMC Orthopaedic Tower and we are very grateful to Jodi Bain for the gift! Our seventh medical musician, Elena Miraztchiyska, has been playing it, but volunteers are welcome!
Finally, we want to acknowledge the approximately 40 people who made donations in response to our fundraising letter this fall, along with these donors who made substantial gifts: Jay Pisik, Sheldon Trubatch and Katharina Phillips, John Perry, and Ron and Jacquelyn Feller.
A special room gets unique art
What kind of art is perfect for a room in Labor & Delivery where adoptive parents meet their newborns for the first time, but also where families can go to grieve when they experience the loss of a baby? Artist Eva Murzaite created a Garden of Healing, full of flowers, honey bees, and even a hidden angel. The work spans three walls and adds a peaceful aura to a room used for very emotional moments.
Sarah Schmerl watercolor | © Lauren Rabb
David Katz, “An Improvisation in Impulse and Deliberation #8” | Photo courtesy of the artist
Labor & Delivery room with Eva Murzaite “Garden of Healing” © Lauren Rabb
5301 E. Grant Road
Tucson, AZ 85712-2805
It is with great sadness that we announce Leonard Coris passed away in late January. Len, along with his wife Doris, was the founder of the TMC Healing Art Program.
We are forever grateful to Len for his passion, vision and generosity that have become a legacy of art and music, providing a beautiful, healing environment for the Tucson community.
