Art Talks

I did an art talk on Friday September 30th in the hospital auditorium and I am offering another art talk at the Nipissing University on October 5th. The auditorium at the hospital is fantastic.

I was glad to have a headset making it possible to walk around and still be heard. I don't care for podiums and much prefer the freedom to move where I want and having no equipment in front of me.

This is my talk at the Nipissing University on October 5th. 

Exploring the old grounds

Upon inquiry, I got to go visit one of the three old hospital grounds called the Scollard site. It is one of the three hospitals that has been merged into the new building called the North Bay Regional Health Centre were I have my studio. This old Scollard site is for the most part a huge empty building waiting to be sold. The air in there is very dusty and stale. Some rooms have used furniture and hospital equipment listed to be sold. Other rooms had shelving full of boxes of unusable hospital supplies. I was given the ok to explore and open boxes, take pictures and to use any of the supplies that I may want to work with for art. Talk about a thrill!

Lots of stainless steel

and plastics of all kinds

I brought back a few things along with a stack of black paper that was piled in the corner of the shelving room. I'm also planning another visit once I've mulled over what I have discovered here. Is any of this useful to me? What calls for my attention? What kind of visual poetry can be made with items of such specific function? In what way can the function of any of these objects enrich the meaning of something placed in its proximity? These are some of the questions I brought back with me from my excursion. 

Piecing elements together

This week I did some collage, sketches and tinkered with a mysterious surgical instrument. I have been mostly absorbing the layered elements of my surroundings and meeting many people in varied hospital departments.

It often goes unnoticed just how many people work in a hospital doing such varied jobs. This week I've met the equipment engineer who fixes lifts and chairs and makes adjustment to various electrical equipment. The Art Therapist came by my studio and introduced herself. Then I met the person who inspects, tallies and either gets repaired or discards all the surgical instruments that might have some damage or wear 'n tear. There was also the hospital purchaser of various things like tubing, masks, gloves, test tubes and other lab and surgical necessities and the list goes on forever of all things hospital. I met the folks in Environmental Services who take care of the cleaning of everything and clearing bio hazard wastes and ensuring clean linen. I find the cooks here great and also very kind. Then there's departments themselves each with specialty staff such as.....Ortho, Forensics, Medical Imagery, Psychiatry, ICU, Emergency....and of course the administration and information technologies of the entire place. Everyone I met had a smile and was willing to spare me some of their time to show me a bit of what they do. I felt at once very honored and humbled to be introduced to all these people as the artist in residence.

My expanded work space

Today I decided to seat myself in the "Main Street Corridor" of the hospital to sketch my surroundings and was astonished at how many people are interested in what I'm up to. About 10 people in one hour came over to look at my drawings and ask questions. Many folks expressed how much they like having an artist in residence in the hospital and welcomed me. To respect privacy, I've taken these images from the Canadian Wood Council Brochure on the architecture of the hospital.

This is where I have my lunch. The architecture is truly amazing and creates such a pleasant working environment and healing space for patients. There was much thought that went into the materials and language defining the space. The place is warm yet efficiently laid out and the design allows for a lot of light in the building. The hospital uses the term lodge instead of ward for the specific treatment areas and each lodge has a name relating to the elements in nature we see from the window....birch lodge, pine lodge...etc.

This is the horticulture room where people come to enjoy the plants as part of their healing. I'll be offering weekly art workshops for both patients and staff and will be leading drawing sessions in this space. I look forward to exercises in blind contour drawing, negative space drawing and exploring line quality to evoke the vibrancy of the plants. I love it in here. Some folks have introduced themselves to me today and we chatted about what they would like to learn.

One more shot

I made sure to get all vaccinations required from the hospital before coming here. All those childhood vaccinations...chicken pox, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis all had to be redone before my arrival. Everything was completed except for my second TB test which I got done today. Understandably it's my first art residency where such immunizations are required. 

My monastery grounds

I ventured beyond the parking lot and surrounding woods to discover Monet's garden. There are lily pads, a bridge and pond just like in the paintings. Quite lovely.

I had a picnic by the pond.

This is the view of my monastery upon arriving at the parking lot entrance. I have the entire place to myself!

The sign from the semi-paved road off the highway.

And I thought I was alone

Here's my new friend KC. She introduced herself on my second night in "my" monastery and comes around every couple of days. She is quite affectionate and was tickling me while working her way up my leg hence the camera shake. What a cutie!