Give 20 artists a small box and a deadline. In return, you will receive multiple pieces using a variety of mediums and images - cloth, acrylic paint, photograph and flowers, people, abstract.
That was the task Leslie Watkins, of Jenkintown, gave a handful of the local artists who contributed pieces to Susquehanna Tower. The artists were told they could use the flat side of the box or the outside of it to create whatever they wanted. They then were asked to donate it to Susquehanna Health, with a contribution made for the cost of materials.
Sections of Susquehanna Tower have been opening throughout the year. In March, the new emergency room in Susquehanna Tower opened, allowing the construction team to renovate the old emergency room space.
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RASHELLE CAREY/Sun-Gazette
Roger Shipley, of Cogan Station, holds his artwork called Birth.
The old emergency room will reopen Oct. 31, creating an additional 16 private rooms to add on to the new emergency room's 38 private treatment rooms, said Tracie L. Witter, director of corporate communications for Susquehanna Health.
When the old emergency room opens, a long corridor will be filled with 12- by 12-inch boxes along the walls, featuring different artists.
Two of the artists are Steve and Rita Bower, of South Williamsport. Steve contributed a non-traditional poppy piece, while his wife painted a scene she took a picture of while spending time in Cozumel, Mexico.
Poppies normally are "cute and sunny," yet Steve used more gray in his design, which he said made it more soothing to look at it.
Rita chose her landscape for its beauty.
"I go to the ocean every summer because it feels healing," she said. When asked to make a piece for Susquehanna Health, she said it would be appropriate to make something she considered healing.
Kurt Herrmann, of Sugar Valley, designed an abstract painting using acrylics that fit into another series he was working on, reflecting the changing seasons. He uses the colors to reflect warmth or cold.
The interpretation of the piece is open to the viewer.
"I wouldn't want to speak for the viewer ever," Herrmann said.
Paula Swett, of Lewisburg, hand-stitched parts of her brightly-colored fabric piece of art to show depth.
Since she knew her piece would be showcased in the old emergency room, she wanted to go with something familiar, so she chose a coneflower.
"I wanted something bright and cheery," Swett said. "For me, that's gardening."
For Roger Shipley, of Cogan Station, his piece represents a happier side of the hospital: birth.
"It's a cycle," Shipley said. "People taking over for someone else. It's a continuing cycle."
His painting features orange and blue in layers that automatically draw the eye to the center and then outward, which is why he wanted to use the inside of the box.
He said he hopes the people who see it find it soothing and comforting.
Susan Nicholas Gephart, of Bellefonte, used a location near the borough to quickly paint a peaceful and tranquil moment outside before it changed.
Since she knew where it would go in the hospital, she wanted to convey a certain message.
"I hope that feeling of peace transcends into the piece and can be shared," she said.
