Client: St. John's Hospital

Overview

This colorful nature-inspired glass and metal wall sculpture welcomes visitors and staff to the NICU at St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, Minnesota. It is created from blown glass, fused glass and metal, and measures 10 feet wide by 3 feet high. The flowing lines of the metal cradle the luminous glass “flowers,” while the dragonfly hovers above in mid-flight. The iridescent wings of the dragonfly shimmer in the light.

Goals

The client was remodeling the NICU and wanted to incorporate original art that would create an uplifting, nurturing and hopeful space for both the patients' families and the staff. This artwork is centered as the focal point at the end of a hallway, which intersects another hallway. It is seen from multiple angles and becomes a wayfinding tool.

Process

The art consultant, whom I have worked with for many years on multiple projects, contacted me to present ideas for this space. She had seen images of my work with butterflies and thought that this would be a good fit for the space but wanted to depict a dragonfly instead of a butterfly, along with a nature-themed metal and blown glass design. She gave me the parameters within which we needed to work. I submitted several sketches, and this one was chosen. We then coordinated the colors with the new scheme in the space. I then created the artwork, with the deadline in mind, and provided images of my progress along the way. I submitted a final image of the work for approval and was also present at the installation.