Nature's Ice Sculpture

After a week off swimming, I returned to practice

Saturday morning. The weather, of course, was cold and

given the sometimes erratic bus schedules,

I did not want to risk frostbite waiting for one at night.

After practice, I went over to Eskenazi Health

to catch the bus for home. There I could go inside

the lobby to enjoy the beautiful artwork,

or go outside to enjoy the water features.

Here, the falls created from stacked blocks 

of limestone created sculptures of their own.

From lovely ruffled edges around the cattails, to

lacy drapes over the flowing water,

the stone and the cold weather

bend the water into vignettes 

of ever-changing beauty.

Kale Forest, *Aerial* View

In a small garden just outside Eskenazi Health,

there's a small stand of kale.

I suppose it is used by the little deli 

next door to make salads for their customers.

Try as I might, I just can't bring myself

to tolerate any but the most occasional serving

of the stuff; chopped up and combined

with cabbage, kale provides color and fibre

for what otherwise would be slaw.

Yuch, bleh, and good riddance.

Hard Edge and Fuzzy

The primary colors are represented here, as well as

hard edge and fuzzy styles of painting.

I paused for a bit to enjoy the beautiful weather

during my walk to swim practice,

looking back to see the way Nature had

composed the yellow and red leaves of the trees

against the man-made (woman-designed)

contemporary stripes of the Eskenazi exterior.

One of my favorite things to see is the way sunlight

can reflect off the sides of trees, causing the light to bounce

and define the lines of the trunks and limbs.

No matter how I've tried, I don't seem to be able

to show that luminescence in my pictures.

So it has to remain a secret treasure, one enjoyed 

by my eyes alone and cherished in my mind.

Another in The Public Collection: Nautilus

When we become engrossed in a book, we are taken 

to another world, visiting places imagined

and real that we can build on to change our world

and to become the person we want to be.

Artist Katie Hudnall has addressed this with Nautilus,

her contribution to The Public Collection.

This bookcase, crafted from materials resourced from

Indianapolis buildings and from crates used to

transport the artwork from old Wishard Hospital

to Eskenazi Health, is meant to evoke

the image of a ship, one that travels our imagination.

This bookcase can be found in the lobby of 

the Fifth Third Bank, just south of Eskenazi Health.

In the curled part of the shell, there is a little room.

Press a button and a light comes on

to illuminate a little bookcase; it is a staircase,

rising towards the light, or books carrying one to the moon.

In itself, that is charming, lending itself

to whatever stories one may care to explore.

Chard

Chard, kale, and green onions are some 

of the veggies planted in a garden 

just outside Eskenazi Health, in a patch 

near the little sandwich shop.

The Art of Healing

When the plans for Eskenazi Health were taking shape, 

one of the first considerations was that art

should be an important focus, both of the building itself 

and within its walls. This has been accomplished

with great success; many artists responded to the hospital's

request for proposals and the results are hanging

from the ceilings and walls, as well as on the exterior

of the building itself. It's a beautiful place,

making the experience of healing more tolerable, 

which can all too often be difficult and tragic 

for both patient and caregiver alike.

However, the use of art to provide a pleasant and 

inspiring atmosphere for the patients is not new.

In 1914, Hoosier Group artist William Forsyth led 

a group of his contemporaries in creating murals intended

to "promote healing and wellness." When completed

in 1916, patients could view artwork by Forsyth, John

Hardrick, Otto Starke, and others. 

The most famous of these artists was, perhaps, 
T. C. Steele, whose paintings now hang in a room 

at the south end of the Eskenazi Health main lobby.

The fate of the others have not been quite so fortunate.

Their story, and of the efforts to restore them has been

detailed in an article in this week's Nuvo Weekly.

Perhaps the doctors who practice at IU Health and at

Eskenazi might get together, contribute an hour or two of

their fees to restore these paintings and to

save the Indiana Medical History Museum. 

And, when you get the opportunity, go take a look 

at Steele's paintings. Titled The Four Seasons,

Steele's landscapes drew me into their composition;

I could almost smell the grass, the trees, and hear

the sound of the water as it flowed in the creek.

And the artist used little to no black in his work,

making him a man after my heart.

The First Week of Spring ...

... And the only things blooming so far are 

the reflections of the streetlights on wet pavements.

I was on my way to work, waiting for the connecting bus,

at the corner of Michigan Street and Indiana Avenue.

I peeped from under my umbrella to take these

shots of cars. At this time of the morning,

most commuters were probably on their way to 

the complex of hospitals on/near the IUPUI campus; 

University Hospital, Riley Hospital, 

Eskenazi Health, and the Veterans Hospital are all 

within walking distance of each other. 

Soutache on Limestone

Back to the little waterfall feature at Eskenazi Health,

where the water rushing past the rocks adorns 

them with icy embroidery, creating lovely soutache 

collars and lapels for the blocks of limestone.

Icy Baubles

In the late afternoon shadows of Eskenazi Health, 

the water made lacy baubles on the rocks 

of the water feature. It piled in beads, making crystal 

necklaces around the flowing water.

Icy Reeds

While most of the snow and ice from this area's recent 

skirmish with the Polar Vortex has melted, 

the splashed water from the water feature at Eskenazi Health 

has frozen on the reeds.

Fine Vines

While the hospital was completed and opened 

just under a year ago, planting for the plaza 

and water features at Eskenazi Health did not begin 

until this past spring. Grasses and reeds were

placed in the water features, while sod

was laid and numerous flowering plants dug

in and around the huge trellis/arcade,

flowers that will provide color and aroma for 

visitors who will relax within and under its shade.

For now, all we have are hints of what is to come.

Colored lights bounce off the trellis framework

and the few vines that grew up into

the supports over the summer. 

Underneath, the little Duos deli provides

lunch and snacks for its guests,

while the water features give peaceful

background noise for people sitting around them.

Curve and Linear

Patterns created by the night, lights 

and misty rain at the Plaza

outside Eskenazi Health.

White at Night

"Slow Food Done Fast" is the motto of the little deli 

just outside Eskenazi Health.

The menu posted in the window shows a lot

of vegan and gluten free options.

However, they keep short hours, opening

only for the lunch crowd, so I haven't been able

to try this little store's offerings.

I see it only at night, when it's clean, white

interior gleams softly in the night lights.

Backdrop

Colorful leaves sank to the bottom 

of the water feature outside Eskenazi Health,

providing a colorful backdrop for 

the flowing water,

moving across the leaves.

Fireworks Without the Sparkle

The lighting on the trees outside Eskenazi Health 

made their spiky twigs stand out like bursts

of gold and red fireworks against the night sky.

Emeralds

A few tattered leaves, among the few left 

on trees outside Eskenazi Health, 

shine like emeralds against the night sky.

Bench Lighting

At about eight p.m., several people were 

outside Eskenazi Health.

Some patients with visiting family members 

enjoyed the water features, while others,

 like me, sat on the long teak benches waiting 

for the bus home.

Reflections on Waiting

At night, the lights in and around 

Eskenazi Health create patterns 

of light and color, making the place 

seem to glitter and move in its own reflections.

This is not a place of fear and shadows. 

People are all around, sitting on the benches,

at ease in the beauty and light around them.

Waiting Out the Storm

The day was one of muggy heat, 

ninety degrees in the shade.

I went to join a dozen or so other people

to swim at the Natatorium and was happy

to jump into the cool water.

Afterwards, the contrast between the

heavy humidity of the outdoors 

and that of the pool was marked.

 Not long after I got to the bus stop 

at Eskenazi Health, the clouds

rolled in with heavy winds and

drenching rain. Several folks and I

waited out the storm under the bus shelter,

enjoying the late summer lightning

and thunder.

Ebb and Flow

The little girl was visiting Eskenazi Health on Saturday

 with her family. They sat on one of the benches, 

resting in the shade, while she and her brother played 

in/on the gurgling water feature on the north end 

of the hospital's plaza. 

In recent days, the designer of this pool has

apparently been working with the hospital's grounds

staff to get the fountain outlets to perform

as she had designed. Now, rather than just a gurgling

low-profile pool, the water level ebbs and flows

as the outlets perform sequentially,

the better to illustrate the quote incised

at the edge of the pool.