Jan designed and directed an inclusive program that produced hundreds of framed images and two large scale artworks for the walls of Children’s Hospital. Here, special needs patients receive outpatient care in the company of artworks created by their own community. Workshops invited participation from families and supporting organizations at the Hamilton County Public Library, Krohn Conservatory, Coney Island and at the hospital during special events. Volunteers folded modular origami into flower forms and Starfire members combined paint, pastels, cut paper forms and stencils to make colorful images for display in treatment rooms.
Projects – Community Based – Public Art – Children’s Hospital at Burnet Avenue (2009)
Starfire comes to Jan’s workshops at Krohn Conservatory to make images for framing and display in treatment rooms.
Starfire members use stenciling technique to make images for framing and display in treatment rooms.
Starfire members use drawing and collage to make images for framing and display in treatment rooms.
A smorgasbord of materials invite experimentation and invention
Dozens of Starfire images dry on the walls of Krohn Conservatory’s Education Room
Fingerpaints and folded paper are used by visitors to workshops held at the Hamilton County Public Library’s Children’s Department.
Fingerpaints and folded paper are used by visitors to workshops held at the Hamilton County Public Library’s Children’s Department.
Special needs patients and their families were invited to workshops held in several public locations: Children’s Hospital, Hamilton County Public Library, and Krohn Conservatory. We began by drawing, stenciling and painting on hand-dyed cotton fabric.
Volunteers to the project created compound origami flower forms.
Volunteers to the project created compound origami flower forms.
The community-decorated fabric pieces were stretched onto hardboard and foamcore forms, with the origami flowers attached to the centers to flower forms.
When delivered onsite, it was discovered that the wall to receive the artwork had a handrail across it to allow patients to exercise. No problem, we just turned it upside down, and let the ceiling be our baseline. A truly flexible piece of community-created artwork!
Special needs patients, hospital staff and families members were invited to participate in a workshop held during at special fundraising event at Coney Island. Materials were supplied for creating of mini sculptures which were mounded onto a hardboard canvas that represented a labyrinth.
The large maze included whimsical inventions at every intersection along the way, suggesting that our lives are full of unexpected encounters that add up to the memories of a lifetime.