As a hospital Artist-In-Residence there is often a great deal of prep work to be done long before you show up for your actual days of work.
Supplies have to be researched and purchased-this step is made even more time consuming as, in order to stretch the materials budget I use coupons which limit me to purchasing one item a day...!
Samples have to be made to show folks just what they can achieve & to entice the hesitant.
Then there is the odd jobs-cleaning of supplies, sorting of beads into color families, sign making, displays, holiday decorations...the list goes on and on and some days there is no time for it all.
This weekend I spent every spare moment not engaged in major FALL cleaning (Talk about an aching back!) making samples and creating visual variations meant to inspire and motivate. It is fun, when you have the time and it is almost as engaging as making one's own art work can be. There is one added element - the happiness I feel as I imagine the excited reaction patients will have to seeing the samples and the satisfaction I will experience when all this extra (and unpaid) hard work pays off as patients get lost in their creativity, loosing track of time, realizing their often annoying side effects are fading fast and as what might otherwise have been a hard day for them transforms into one filled with artistic fun. I love those moments!
P.S. I love the photo frames-from Michael's Arts & Crafts. Coated with a layer of paint, stickers or rubber stamps work well on the surface & with very little effort you can get a beautiful end result.
No comments:
Post a Comment