LIFESPAN HEALING ART PROGRAMS
PROGRAMS THAT USE ART CARTS
RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL AND HASBRO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
The Lifespan Healing Arts has numerous inpatient and outpatient art programs that require the use of an Art Cart. For the most part the carts are the standard wooden cart variety with shelves and a handle, The Bottles of Hope program uses a hospital utility cart. The Museum on Wheels program uses a cart that was purchased at Sam’s Club and re-fitted specifically for this program.
HASBRO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
MUSEUM ON ROUNDS began in 1991 as collaboration between Rhode Island Hospital Children’s Potter Unit and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art. The program visits both the outpatient oncology clinic and inpatient floors 5 and 6. Once a week for 3-4 hours a professional arts educator/artist visits a particular unit along with a work/study student from The Rhode Island School of Design - and with her well-stocked Art Cart. Patients who can leave their rooms meet in the activities room on each floor where the lesson for the day is presented. The artist will also visit patients bedside who are unable to leave their rooms (the list of these patients provided by Child Life staff). The artist/instructor shows a reproduction of a famous work of art from a museum collection then engages the children in a discussion about the artist and of the unique form and content of the artwork. The patient then creates their own work of art based on their observations. Instructors have available appropriate supplies for each project. Some projects might include; collage with Matisse; watercolor painting with Monet; wire sculpture with Calder; masks with African mask images, printmaking with Rauschenberg. The lesson is designed to be completed in one session to give the child a sense of completion regardless of the length of their stay. Siblings if in the patient’s room are also invited to partake in the program. Lessons encompass all the types of art projects that are used in the public schools and the same variety of art supplies: Some projects: Collage, watercolor-acrylic painting, clay sculpture, jewelry, mask-making, wood sculpture, painted shoes, crayon resist, book-making, printmaking, cigar jewel boxes, mirrors, frames. Patients usually want to take their work home with them but if not the work is exhibited and rotated in the children’s gallery in the RI hospital. For many children Museum on Rounds is their first exposure to great works of art and the creative process. The program provides children with the chance to create art and helps them gain a greater sense of accomplishment, self-worth and control in an unsettling situation. Museum on Rounds employs two part-time professional artists/educators. The program is funded though grants, private donations and hospital funds.
ART WHILE YOU WAIT caters specifically to children who must spend time in the Emergency Department waiting area of the hospital. The primary goal of AWYW is to offer a therapeutic distraction to patients who may be experiencing pain, anxiety or fear. Additional goals include using art as a viable tool in palliative care, s well as providing assistance to the medical staff in the ED waiting area, by keeping the children engaged and relaxed. The program presents a different art project each week, in addition the art cart is filled with a variety of art and crafts materials and other guided projects for patients and their siblings. For the younger artists parents are encouraged to help and some enjoy crafting their own projects. AWYW visits the ED 3 nights a week form 6-9pm. The program is directed by artist Kyle McDonald and is funded by the Art for Life Foundation. Art While You Wait was one of the 5 winners of the Blair Sadler International Healing Arts Competition in 2005.
RHODE ISLAND HOSPTIAL
ART ON ROUNDS is modeled after Museum on Rounds and visits the two adult units in Rhode Island Hospital. The artist/instructor along with a RISD student visits patient’s bedside with the Art Cart. Projects are designed to help patients use art to express their feelings and provide a creative and emotional outlet that may help their physical healing as well. Families are invited to participate along with the patient. Each week the artist visits the unit with a different museum reproduction, discusses the artist and the work of art while encouraging participation from the patient. Patients then create their own work of art using the reproduction as inspiration. Still-life set-ups, calendar images and other resource material are used to inspire and motivate the patient. It is not always easy to engage an adult in an art project. They are often depressed, anxious and not at all receptive to the program. This is where the right person is needed for the particular program. An artist who can enter a patient’s room with a smile and a warm greeting and tell the patient about the program. If the patient says “No, not interested” the artist simply leaves. Sometimes the artist will simply sit with the patient and create the artwork for them, with the patient’s input by providing suggestions of color, imagery. Often it is the company of a non-medical person (conversation is focused on art) that is just as important for the patient as doing an art project. The individual medical units support this program where the program takes place.
CREATE-A-CARD is a new Volunteer run adult program that invites patients and families to create-a-card. The Art Cart is stocked with an assortment of Mandala designed cards (various Mandala pencil designs drawn on cards) with envelopes, colored pencils and markers. (The symbol of the Mandala seemed appropriate for a hospital setting as the Mandala may lead its user to a visualization and realization of the source of energy within himself/herself). The patient chooses one design, selects colors and writes their own message. The card can be given to a loved one, a friend, a member of the staff, a” thank you.” This program is well suited for patients who are intimidated by the more open-ended art program. It offers them the opportunity to make choices, choose colors, and engage in conversation and share time with the art volunteer. The program visits patients weekly on one unit. The initial cost of art supplies and cards and purchase of a the Art Cart was covered by the Volunteer Department.
BOTTLES OF HOPE is an adult program that brings weekly workshops to RIH Comprehensive Cancer Center. The artist turns chemotherapy bottles into art by decorating them with colorful polymer clay and filling them with a wish or message of hope. The artist works one on one with the patient while the patient is in outpatient treatment. Finished bottles take the form of trees, robots, animals, etc.The patient takes the bottle home and bakes it in the oven for 20 minutes or the artist will take it home and return it to the patient the following week. Caregivers are also invited to participate. The Alice Boss Health and the Arts Fund and philanthropic contributions support the program. Visit bottlesofhope.com
MUSEUM ON WHEELS offers patients the opportunity to choose new artwork for their rooms from a traveling library of prints and photographs. Trained volunteers make weekly rounds in RIH. Subject matter includes, landscapes, animals, birds, sports, children, etc. At patient’s request images of motorcycles, Portugal landscapes (RI has a big Portuguese population) and other unique pictures have been added to the collection. The volunteer engages the patient in conversation about their choice of a print and hangs it in their room. The element of choice, selecting one’s favorite print and changing one’s environment-is an important aspect of this program. The artwork can promote thoughtful discussion between the patient and the volunteer about the subject matter, etc. Art Prints are purchased from Bruce McGaw and New York Graphic Society. Prints are laminated and framed with simple brushed silver by the company that laminates the prints. Wire is affixed to the back of the print. The Rhode Island Hospital Medical Staff Association supports the program.