Client: Vanderbilt Children's Hospital

Overview

I’m excited to announce that I’ve installed the 23 foot long mural and 4 sculptures that I created for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN. This is on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the new 11th floor. Since “Space” was the theme, I created a painting about “Space Bunnies.” To install the mural, I had to use a product that would make the art removable and cleanable at the same time. I varnished it (using all GOLDEN acrylic products for this whole process) and Vanderbilt covered it with plexiglass to help preserve it. There are also some resin bunny sculptures I cast and painted and they are on the pedestals outside the elevator and one is jumping off a window ledge. These are to help draw your eye toward the art when you step off the 11th floor. My hope is that the siblings and family of sick babies and the staff who treat them will have a moment of respite as they observe the space bunnies taking off from earth and playing in space. It’s pure whimsy and fun. My goal was to make the bunnies “human-like” but not necessarily exactly like us. They are different colors–red, yellow, blue and green. Some of the bunnies are in wheelchairs or on crutches, some are young and old–it’s a mixture. Thank you Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital!

Goals

The Theme on the oncology ward was Space. I had earlier created a "bunny theme" for East TN Children's Hospital in Knoxville, so it made sense to continue with a bunny them but put them in space. I got the color scheme from their flooring and signage and then sketched out the idea of bunnies flying from earthy out into space.

Process

I worked with the art coordinator there at Vanderbilt on the design and also with the architectural team out of New York on the structural and design aspects permitted on this project.