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Ronald McDonald House of Northern Virginia
This project is very bittersweet, as it is on the campus of the hospital I was born at and is one of my last big projects before my family moves off to Phoenix. Three hundred butterflies and dragonflies grace the walls of the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Virginia on the campus of INOVA Fairfax Hospital, which underwent extensive renovations over the past year to accommodate more families, many of whom have newborns in the NICU. The renovations are so beautiful (and in the history of all renovations completed AHEAD of schedule!) that my kids requested tagging along to hang out there while I hung up the butterflies, helping me out in between watching iPads and playing on the playground outside. They also realized that Ronald McDonald Houses are related to ACTUAL McDonalds, and a Pavlovian type response ensued and milkshakes were had after we would finish each visit up.
These pieces were customized to the needs of the house, as the palette of the living room had already been set from their last redesign. They requested a heart shape over the fireplace, and to anchor the heart on either side, similar paintings to the ones for Martha Washington and Georgetown. I kept the heart shapes (a commonly used logo of Ronald McDonald Houses) going throughout the halls, marking the beginning and end of the first and second floors. A unique butterfly or dragonfly sits over each room number, creating an additional identifier for guests of the House. I’m grateful to have been part of this incredible renovation and pray that it blesses families for years to come.
Georgetown Pediatric Floor!
Georgetown, siiiigh. I love this campus, it keeps drawing me back. First it was for school, then a job had me making regular visits, and recently I was back again doing a butterfly installation for the pediatric floor of the hospital. These two hundred (!!!) butterflies and dragonflies have a wayfinding purpose, leading visitors and patients through the halls to the doors of the unit itself, and three paintings mark the beginning, middle, and end of the trail.
It’s hard to express how kind everyone on this floor was…the nurse managers who helped facilitate the project made me feel SO welcome and were beyond appreciative, giving me encouragement (and snacks!) along the way. I’m not sure if everyone in pediatrics is just a special breed of person or if the crew at Georgetown are just extra kind, but I felt such warmth being there I just wanted to stay a bit longer! Hope you enjoy this round of butterflies!
Wayfinding – Butterfly Delivery Day at Martha Jefferson Hospital
I can’t believe the second installation is up! This one is a cool story, totally serendipitous (although I don’t really believe in coincidences!). Backstory…every year, the dad of one of my best friends has a party he calls Lobsterfest. Lobsterfest coincides with his birthday, and it’s replete with fresh Maine lobsters, a margarita machine, and a professional deejay. People come from far and wide, including a couple we’ve grown to be friends with from Charlottesville, Virginia. She works at UVA, he’s a doctor, and they’re just those genuine, friendly people you enjoy being around. So when they asked about what I was up to art-wise, I told them about the butterfly project and how I had sold enough butterflies to create my second donation installation. Without skipping a beat, Dr. Will jumped on it and told me his hospital was going to be the next site. I told him not to commit too quickly, as there are lots of restrictions both aesthetically and physically, and he told me he was simply going to “make it happen” end of story.
The next week, I got a call from a hospital administrator explaining how perfect our timing was, as just the week before her staff had requested 3D art to help guide patients through the hospital corridor to the surgical check in. Apparently nervous patients were getting lost on their way and they needed better signage to direct them to their destination. So when I explained that this was just that – 3D butterflies that can make a trail from one point to another – it was a perfect fit.
What is so neat about the installations is that these are fully custom pieces. All the colors you see in these pictures match the palette of the hospital and the scenery is reminiscent of the Charlottesville landscape. The customization is a big part of what makes this project special…the hospital can focus on purchasing essentials to aid in physical healing, and these pieces can give warmth to what can be a sometimes scary place, giving comfort and providing emotional healing. Win win!
If you are interested in purchasing a butterfly, keep an eye on the shop, or contact me for a custom piece!
