West Pines Hospital

Adolescent Rehab Unit

     The artist began working with West Pines Psychiatric Hospital one year before they opened. He created mural projects, working with the clients of 10 different organizations that were determined to be potential sources of referrals. Each group produced a mosaic mural for installation in their own building, and then completed one panel as a part of a larger mural for installation in the dining room of the new Hospital, in 1988. The resulting artwork, "Blossoming Earth", is a 210 square foot mosaic, in three panels, that is based on the shapes of cultivated fields from above. A swath of color down the midle of the piece represents a blossoming of the earth when it is fertilized and irrigated. This visual metaphor is a symbol of the potential for blossoming that can occur with patients, when they are supported and nurtured.
     Rose continued working with West Pines, as the director of the Artist In Residence Program, for seven years. Along with the many art therapy opportunities created for patients, what was unique about the program was its outreach aspects. These included inviting neighbors to the hospital for free art classes, bringing in professional artists for special workshops, and the organization of many community mural  projects in the general community.
   (Click on the City Part Pavilion link for more about this.)