Healthy dose of kids' art brightens Newberg hospital

Saturday, April 22, 2006 JANET GOETZE NEWBERG -- Viewing art can help us heal by lowering blood pressure and reducing stress hormones, says Dr. George Weghorst, the medical director for Providence Health System's Yamhill County service area.

For that reason, the new Providence Newberg Medical Center, scheduled to open at the eastern edge of Newberg on June 10, has lots of art -- and it isn't bland, inoffensive public art. It's kid-designed, with youthful observations and vitality.

In recent months, 10 artists have worked with nearly 400 students in the service area of the $68.5 million hospital, which includes Newberg, St. Paul, Sherwood and Dundee. The young artists, ranging from fourth-graders to high-schoolers, have produced paintings, mosaics, sculptures, weavings, silk banners and a tile mural. The artwork will be displayed in such public places as the hospital cafeteria, a wall near the main entrance and the waiting area near the surgical suites.

Fourth- and fifth-graders at Sherwood's Middleton Elementary School adopted a theme of birds, selecting their favorites to paint in acrylics on wood blocks. Artists Barbara Mason of Aloha and Eileen Cotter Howell of Salem assembled the blocks into an installation for the surgery waiting area. "Because it is a hospital, and the mural will be by a healing and hope-filled area, the birds are metaphorically uplifting," said Mason, a printmaker who also showed students the techniques of her art. The students also carved likenesses of hummingbirds, hawks, herons and other birds on soft tile blocks. They smeared the blocks with a thick ink, then pressed them onto heavy paper for note cards. The cards will be sold in the hospital gift shop, with a percentage of sales returned to Middleton for future art programs, said Principal Sandy Brookshaw. Fourth-grader Sam Morey selected a phoenix, also known as a firebird, as his subject. "I thought it would be cool to have a firebird," he said. "I hope it will calm down people when they are in the surgery room."

Fourth-graders from Dundee Elementary School and Newberg's Edwards Elementary visited the hospital and interviewed staff members to learn about health-care occupations. Those were the subjects of their mural, completed in mosaic tiles under the guidance of ceramist Sam Bernardi of Amity. The students wrote essays about technicians who study blood and take X-rays as well as dietitians who plan meals. Then they drew pictures to illustrate their observations. Bernardi arranged the student images on large boards. Finally, as he slathered adhesive on the boards, the students completed the pictures with multicolored tiles. "You think it isn't going to look good," Christopher Foufos said, explaining his first reaction to mosaic art. "Then when it's done, it's a complete picture."

At Newberg's C.S. Lewis High School, eight students went on a field trip to gather blossoms, barks and other plant materials with painter James Jack of Portland. Jack helped them make pigments by combining the plant materials with pebbles, sands and other minerals. Using the natural pigments, the students developed designs with circular forms, which people of many cultures believe are soothing or have transformational powers, Jack said. Tibetan mandala artists, for instance, say the circle enables the mind to relax and find peace.

Paula Radich, the superintendent of Newberg Public Schools, said the students not only have learned new techniques from the artists, but they also have learned how the hospital and the schools can work as partners for community improvements. Several students realized the lasting effect of their creative efforts, too. Fourth-grader Collin Auerbach of Sherwood said, "I think it's neat that when we're older and have kids, we can go there and say, 'We made this.' "