VETERANS HOSPITAL ART FIX.

I'm very comforted by the fact that public places like airports, hospitals and other great buildings share with us some of the great art of the world.  If you can't get your art fix in a gallery, you can freely walk around public buildings and enjoy. This glass sculpture hangs from the ceiling at the Defenders Lodge at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. It hangs down into the stair well from the 3rd story above. It is considered a mobile and reminds me of Dale Chihuly's work. No one knew if it was one of his installations or not.


The pieces resemble butterflies, or stingrays.


Such beauty. In this area, the glass pieces created colored shadows on the wall.


Most of the "leaves" are a foot long or more. I always say, pictures don't do it justice, and it is true.


The lighting makes them luminous. Photographing them from the stairwell is easy.


The Defenders Lodge has a terrific library, with comfortable chairs and many books. It has closed doors and is a very quiet contemplative place. This bowl of glass balls sits on a desk.


On a coffee table, some ceramic flat work.


They encourage you to say, "Gee, I could do that!" Of course, I didn't, and someone else did. And, they look easy until you start to build one. I like them. I worked with clay a bit at one point in my "wanna be an artist" former life.



In the radiology clinic, about 20 or more paintings were horse themed. All of them are behind glass and because of the glare, getting a decent picture was tough.


I tried, after admiring these horses racing through the snow.


And splashing through water.


A wood print, also under glass.


There are stunning pieces in this collection, but like this one, the glare is impossible. But, I thought seeing the people reflected in the background gave it some merit.


Doll figures were in a different hall. When Jim has his eye done the next time, I'm going to use my waiting time by visiting each floor and each clinic and admire the art work that is sure to be there.
In closing, we met and talked with Bobby Brown and another vet, Ron (last name long Italian) Batt, for short. He was born and raised in San Francisco, went to the same High School as my husband, who was also born and raised in S.F.  They traveled some of the same by-ways and told similar stories about similar watering holes and restaurants.  Ron was great fun,  a good story-teller and it turned out that we had mutual friends in Tom and Mary Kingshill, who moved from S.F. to Murphys about 18 years ago. It was a fun reminisce.

Now I have to consider showers and toilets, wall plugs, lighting fixtures, refrigerator placement...that kind of stuff, but a worthy task.