(Pictured above: Students in the PDCI Art Club created this beautiful
mural which now hangs on the wall in the dining room of the
rehabilitation unit. Art Club members are pictured with hospital
staff following a recent unveiling ceremony.)
(Perth) - A beautiful floral mural has added colour and warmth to a formerly dreary dining room at Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital.
Students in the Art Club at Perth and District Collegiate Institute (PDCI) created the mural and two other paintings now hanging in the dining room of the rehabilitation unit, located on the hospital’s third floor. The three-piece, 6 by 4 –foot mural now hangs on a newly painted aqua green wall in the room. It bursts with a floral theme of yellow lilies and crimson pansies, and bears positive messaging meant to inspire patience with words such as persistence, strength, patience and growth.
“It was great for the kids,” said Erin Hunter, a visual arts teacher at PDCI who oversaw the project. “A lot of the students have had family members treated in this hospital and it was a chance to give back to the community. It was a real character builder for them.”
The idea for the mural was the brainchild of former patient Nancy Langdon, who suggested last fall that a mural would make the room more inviting. Dr. Kate Stolee, a rehabilitation consultant at the hospital, approached PDCI about having students create the mural on the hospital’s behalf.
“We always encourage our patients to come have supper together or with family,” said Stolee. “The problem was that it wasn’t an appealing place. We wanted to make it a nicer atmosphere for the patients.”
The mural has added the warmth to the room that organizers of the project envisioned.
“I can’t get over it,” said Langdon. “This is great.”
The initiative was also a helpful team-building project for both the hospital and the high school.
“It was really nice to work with kids who are energetic and motivated,” added Stolee of the mural project. “They were all very responsible and got the job done. It was a very positive experience for us.”
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For more information, please call:
Erin Hunter
Visual Arts Teacher
Perth and District Collegiate institute
613-267-3051
Posted June 16, 2009