Written by Lauren Rabb | Curator | TMC Healing Art Program
Art PROGRAM Healing
Quilt for a Cause
There are so many exciting renovations going on at the hospital! You may have noticed that certain areas are closed, but don’t worry – the art is safe and will be rehung when construction is finished.
Although the hospital may look a bit bare right now, it’s all part of a plan to prepare for Quilt for a Cause, coming in September. We’re saving some hallways to make that installation perfect. The effort is more than decorative with proceeds from quilt sales benefiting TMC’s Breast Oncology Program. Be sure to visit to the hospital between Sept. 27 and Oct. 25 to view and bid on
New artwork installed
While public spaces are undergoing renovations we have been busy behind the scenes, installing works in the Atrium Building (formerly the Art Institute Building) where many TMC administrative offices are now located.
We have also installed new artwork in the main campus of the hospital. You can view the new pieces at the Northeast entrance, the admitting lobby and the second floor surgical tower waiting area.
Beautiful watercolors by Nancy Brorby in the lobby of the TMCOne offices in the Atrium. Photo by Lauren Rabb.
Donor update
Our donors continue to be the heartbeat of the TMC Healing Art Program. We’d like to thank collectors Peter Aiau and Ousan Ormbrek for a gift of two Amado Maurilio Pena, Jr. prints. We also received a large group of Western prints from Sandy Maxfield, and another large gift from the Estate of Joan Kaye Cauthorn. Friends of Charlie Burton donated a lovely oil painting by the beloved conservator who passed away in January.
Artists who contributed works include Rhona Stern, Judy O’Toole-Freel and Anita Pinkerton. We also received three more works from the Tucson Portrait Story series by Lauri Kaye.
New photographers to the program include Britta Van Vranken, Cita Scott, and Kalin Steen, son of noted photographer and frequent TMC Healing Art Program contributor, Bill Steen. We also want to welcome soon-to-beseen photographers Christopher Wesselman, James Capo, Ernie Schloss and Leila Shehab – all of whom are members of Club Camera Tucson.
Financial donors are of vital importance to the program. Since we last wrote, these include Gary and Jill Sisson, Rica Spivack, Jacquelyn and Ron Feller, Alan Speert, and Barbara Silberg. Once again, Jerry Freund made an annual gift to support both the TMC Healing Art Program and the TMC Healing Art Endowment. Thank you all so very much for your support!
Art for the Mother-Baby Unit
In addition, every room in the TMC Mother-Baby Unit now has a lovely floral photograph, enhancing the setting for the new baby. The process of putting floral photographs in all 47 Mother-Baby rooms was challenging because we had to wait for rooms to be empty. That’s a time consuming task at TMC, where more babies are born than anywhere else in Southern Arizona!
Colorful ponies by Judy O’Toole-Freel, currently installed at the NE entrance. Photos by Lauren Rabb.
Rhona Stern, “Of the Creator,” acrylic on canvas. Photo by Lauren Rabb.
Brandy Stone, Wildflowers
Left and Above: Floral images for Mother-Baby rooms, courtesy of Centric photo.
Marianne Leis, Blooming Sunshine
Cita Scott, Abundance
Research projects
Visitor reactions
“The collection reflects the generosity and gratitude of the community.”
“All the artwork is either colorful, cheery or soothing.”
“The artwork is accessible to both patients and families in the places where they are likely to be waiting.”
We are so grateful to hear comments like these! Elena Miraztchiyska, one of our pianists, said she receives positive feedback from visitors on a regular basis. The compliments include:
“Thank you for the music. It feels therapeutic.”
“The music makes you forget where you are! Instead, it brings back memories from my youth.”
“Your music made my day.”
Our video project is again being shown to patients on the fourth floor of the orthopedic tower. This time, with the help of Wellness Intern and Patient Care Technician Riley Richardson, we are recording vital signs, blood pressure, pulse and oxygen readings, before and after patients see the relaxation video.
We have expanded the pool of patient participants and the results have been very interesting. While most patients enjoy the video, reactions range from, “Please, can I get my own copy of this?!” to “I’m still in a lot of pain/anxiety, but I did enjoy it.”
Interestingly, the patients’ vitals can tell a more nuanced story. Blood pressure has dropped in some patients by as much as 20 points after watching the video!
We have completed a third round of the Visual Thinking Strategies classes for new nurses. With feedback from the first two classes, we adjusted the program curriculum and are finally getting the “aha!” moments. A sincere thank-you to Jacquelyn Feller, who beautifully handles the clinical photos, and to Erica Murphy, the clinical educator who spearheads the one-year mentorship program for all new nurse graduates.
An artwork used in VTS classes for new nurse grads, by James Davis. Photo courtesy of Etherton Gallery.
Larry Hanelin, Valparaiso. Courtesy of Centric photo.
The Morgue Viewing room, reflections on water by Sonja VanBuuren. Photo by Lauren Rabb.
5301 E. Grant Road
Tucson, AZ 85712-2805
A fond farewell
Michael Duran, who has led the TMC foundation for 16 years, will be retiring this July. Without Michael’s support and vision, this program wouldn’t exist. The TMC Healing Art Program is Michael’s legacy to the hospital. He understood the healing potential of art and has made a serious and lasting effort to enhance the hospital’s atmosphere for patients, visitors, and staff.
I want to thank him for the trust he put in me and the TMC Healing Art Program. We will miss him very much and wish him many happy years and travels in his retirement.