Healing Art

For the fifth year in a row, the Grade 7 Art students have been invited to display their beautiful artwork on the Children’s Art Wall at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Lois Lenzi, the curator of the Art Wall, created the hospital hallway gallery to profile the work of young student artists in the Treasure Valley. As the students viewed the wall, Lois told them, “Riverstone students create some of the best Middle School artwork in the Boise area.”

The Children’s Art Wall is part of St. Alphonsus collection of “healing art.” Throughout the hospital, there are art installations of paintings, sculptures, weavings, and clay art. The philosophy behind displaying art is part of St. Al’s program of “principled healing.” Combinations of decreased noise level, large windows, ambient lighting, access to nature, and art have proven to enhance and accelerate healing. Riverstone students are privileged to be a part of their program.

The Grade 7 art pieces were a culmination of a MYP unit of study concerned with understanding the relationship between positive and negative space and how both work together to create a work of art. Before beginning the unit, students pondered the guiding questions: How do we develop an awareness of space and shape? How do they work together to form a finished work of art? Working within the Area of Interaction of Environment, the students were able to develop an understanding of the relationship our environment has on our understanding of two and three-dimensional space. Challenged to create “jigsaw puzzles” based on individual themes, the students created artwork with as little negative space as possible. The results were beautiful watercolors based on themes of flowers, music, animals, iconic world monuments, and more.

Take a moment out of your busy day to visit the Children’s Art Wall. You will be impressed with the talent of our artists! The display will be up through the month of November.