Green-coloured resin flows as artists Renee Matheson, Mark Werklund and eager volunteers work to create beauty from recycled medical waste.
After months of planning and designing, work on placing medical caps, vials, tubes and other recycled items into a butterfly mosaic is now underway at at 205 Martin St.
This piece was inspired by Dr. JoyAnne Krupa, Dr. Rebecca Psutka and Dr. Jackie Bourdeaux, three resident physicians who consulted with the newly-formed arts committee at .
The mosaic consists of a flowering vine attracting a number of butterflies. Matheson said to see the artwork actually coming together is truly exciting.
鈥淭he planning stage is the mind-bending part. Now I鈥檝e got my gloves on and can actually dig and play and create,鈥� she said in a news release. 鈥淭oday we鈥檙e injecting colour-tinted resin into the tubes, then shaping them around bottles and things to make a vine.鈥�
The medical materials are being placed onto a large custom-built wooden frame in Matheson鈥檚 art studio and then surrounded by layers of resin, creating a three-dimensional effect.
Fellow artist Werklund has worked extensively with resin over the years 鈥� but never something like this.
鈥淚鈥檝e never injected resin into tubes so this is kind of a new experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful assemblage and a lot of fun.鈥�
Werklund said he鈥檚 intrigued by the idea of turning medical waste into art.
鈥淚 also like the technical aspects of creating a piece like this. It鈥檚 3-D but you鈥檙e still thinking in 2-D as well.鈥�
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Volunteer Robin Robertson, also a member of the PRH arts committee, says she didn鈥檛 hesitate to get involved.
鈥淚 think was of the resident physicians on our committee who talked about the notion that there鈥檚 lots of waste in the hospital 鈥� and how could we use that in art,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never worked with resin before so it鈥檚 fun to learn something new.鈥�
Matheson hopes to have the work completed by the end of April and believes it could lead to similar works in the future.
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鈥淚 think one of the really important things people have connected with is that it鈥檚 recycled,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to do this for a lot of hospitals.鈥�
More volunteers are welcome. By making a donation to the hospital鈥檚 arts program, donors have an opportunity to become a hands-on participant in the project.
To schedule an appointment contact Renee Matheson at 250-488-4999 or email her at .
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