Beauty is the awakener that brings forth hope and wholeness.  Art is the powerful regenerative tool of beauty.

 Since it was almost Valentines Day I asked Kimberly, the sister of a young patient, if she would like to create a heart out of a very large coffee filter.  Wearing a silver crown on her head she cut out little designs in the large heart.  Then, in the center, she placed the name of her little brother with painted rainbow rays radiating outward.  Between each ray she put the name of everyone in MassGeneral Hospital for Children who had helped.  Doctors, nurses, chaplains, child life people, social workers, etc. and family members were included. It was evident through this child’s artistic expression that she knew her little brother was surrounded by loving, caring people and helping hands.  Creating this piece of art not only gave her a vehicle for communication but a way to say “thank you” - a real symbol of hope and healing. 

Creating art with this young girl was almost a full circle for me because the day I arrived at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in October 2001 to start my journey as Artist in Residence Kimberly and her family helped me to decorate a sterile hospital cart, transforming it into the “Imagination Kart”.

 Imagine yourself as a small child lying in a hospital bed and one cart after another rolls into your room for tests, drawing of blood, and other unsettling procedures.  Then you hear the sound of tiny bells and you see a very different cart.  Covered with small kites that spin, moons, stars and rainbow streamers that float in the breeze the “Imagination Kart” lights up your eyes when it arrives at your bedside. Hiding in the cart are brilliant  watercolors, Craypas, crayons, colored tissue, large coffee filters, large cardboard disks and blank journals waiting to engage and inspire hospitalized children to create their own environment.  Like small magicians, the patients transform the supplies into giant butterflies, rainbows, personal stories and mandalas that hang from IV poles.

 As an artist who has created murals in hospitals throughout the country and the author/illustrator of “The Moon Balloon: A Journey of Hope and Discovery for Children & Families” as well as twenty five other children’s books I have always believed in the power of art to help heal.  Using playful drawings of hot air balloons representing different feelings I experienced how symbols in art can help children cope with the stress of illness and loss.
 
 
 

 Mary Lou Kelleher, RN, MS - Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist contacted me to discuss the possibility of a partnership between “The Moon Balloon” and MGH for Children. Through a start-up grant from the Elizabeth S. Whiteside Charitable Foundation and then a matching grant from The MGH Ladies Visiting Committee our artist in residence program was born - a long time dream come true.

 The program works in close conjunction with child life specialists as well as the pediatric chaplain, nurses, physicians and social workers under the supervision of Mary Lou Kelleher. Two days a week I divide my time between bedside visits, playroom groups and the Pediatric Oncology Out Patient Clinic offering hands on art projects for patients and families.  Informational -Educational Sessions as well as “hands-on” creativity workshops have been held for Child Life Specialists, Family Advisory Committee, Interdisciplinary Group of Nurses, Therapists, Social Workers, Chaplains, Administrators, and Physician/ Residents. Other programs include using “The Moon Balloon” as a vehicle for expression and interaction, such as during the MassGeneral Hospital for Children Family Forum responding to the events of Sept. 11th.

 Engaging in the art-making process is not just simple entertainment; sometimes it is the only doorway to the soul.  A child who could not speak or use his arm after a traumatic accident sat longingly looking at the jewel-like watercolors contained in tiny sponge topped bottles in the Kart.  Although his body was bruised, his eyes told me he wanted to create.  Speech therapists came in to coax him to talk but he remained silent.  After a long while he began to slowly utter: “blue, red, yellow” and painfully reached for the small bottles of color.  Soon he created a beautiful mandala which we hung on his IV pole.  For him to create was an act of courage and transformation and acted as a diversion for his pain. 

When one of the doctors asked my seven year old budding artist how he had created the beautiful rainbow design, we invited him to sit down and the boy demonstrated how to fold the coffee filter into a “pizza slice” and where to add the color.  The doctor and patient working together was a beautiful example of how art can help empower a child.  Inspiring young cancer patients to create illustrated journals “All About Me” has enabled them to tell their stories visually and express feelings difficult to verbalize.  Young patients and their families have told me that creative expression has helped them to feel more in control thereby helping to improve their quality of life.

 We are using art to form a bridge between cultures by creating a partnership called “The Friendship Balloon”  between MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the Gaslini Hospital for Children in Genoa, Italy.  For the past two years, with the help of  Dr.Tina Annoni, principal of Mente Corpo Education, I have presented  workshops for professionals on The Moon Balloon and Art and Humor at the Gaslini Hospital.  An information exchange video about professionals from MassGeneral Hospital for Children was shared with the Italian professionals along with e-mail addresses. Secondary to the events of Sept. 11th the Italian exchange visit was canceled.  This June I am scheduled to return to Gaslini to work with the children.  I will be bringing with me small cutout Friendship Balloons with photos of MGH children riding in the baskets. We will explore what it means to be a friend and share good wishes between patients and families on both sides of the Atlantic.

 Just this month the Society for the Arts in Healthcare held its annual conference at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida.  Mary Lou Kelleher MS, RN and I presented “The Friendship Balloon: Using Art as an International Agent”.

 My dream is that these simple images of hope and beauty will open hearts, making the world a better place for children.