Featured Articles: Moving Towards Green
Carol LeBaron
Title: Spring Growth, clamp resist
dyed wool, hand stitched,
5'H x 8'W
Commissioned For: Bronson Methodist Hospital,
Kalamazoo, MI
Trade Prodessional: Pam de Alth, PdA Associates
The new state-of-the-art Bronson Methodist Hospital building, completed in 2000, was such a financial, clinical, and community success that administrators soon recognized the need to expand further by remodeling the original 100-year-old hospital building that still stood on the site. Pam de Alth had already commissioned work from Carol LeBaron for the first phase of the project and knew she could create the perfect visual counterpoint for the 90-foot glass mosaic wall planned for the new North Pavilion. With jewel-like colors glowing against a background of deep watery blues, Spring Growth sets a mood that is at once soothing and full of life. "We wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere, support the healing process, and soften the hospital environment so that people can relax and heal," says de Alth.
LeBaron's work often addresses issues of water use and conservation. "I take images from both endangered flora and also common flora that will become endangered if we do not husband our water resources well," she explains. Not only does her work explore themes drawn from nature, but it showcases LeBaron's commitment to working green. She uses wool from repurposed blankets and sweaters or purchased from producers in New England or near her home in the southern Appalachians. "I also take pieces left from former projects and they become new ones. Nothing is wasted," LeBaron says. To this end, she uses nontoxic dyes that exhaust completely so she can recycle water from dye bath to dye bath. LeBaron does much of her dyeing during the summer in an outdoor studio. "I heat the pot to a temperature, leave it in the sun, and the sun will heat my dye pots."
LeBaron's personal and artistic appreciation for the resources of the natural world ties in beautifully with some of the principles guiding the design of the Bronson Methodist Hospital's North Pavilion. The facility is participating in the Pebble Project, a nationwide initiative committed to rethinking healthcare delivery and measuring outcomes. Plants, natural light, and art are used throughout the space to improve the environment for patients, employees, and visitors and to achieve tangible results in employee turnover and patient satisfaction, among other measures. The hospital will track all of this data for years to come, but one piece of this vast project has already shown up as a clear positive. "Carol has been wonderful to work with," de Alth reports. "We couldn't be more pleased with the result."