Kaiser Santa Teresa Family Health Center Pediatric Waiting Room
The Story

There had been talk at Kaiser of finding a mural artist for the Pediatric Clinic. Cindy Tracey, a nurse in the pediatric department, saw my web address on the back of my truck and contacted me. After weeks of discussion and design proposals, the staff in each unit chose a theme. The project was set in motion to assist and encourage a state of well-being in the patients, which is a crucial aspect of any healing journey. The overall idea was to create beautiful, engaging scenes that would appeal to people of all ages and give kids something to do while they wait. Plaques next to the murals provide a list of items to find in each of the murals.

The painting of these 6 murals in 5 waiting rooms took 5 months. Painting began December 1, 2005 and was completed April 30, 2006. Each mural wall was thoroughly washed, then taped off to protect the surrounding areas and carpets. The wall was then primed with a few coats of an interior water-based, low-odor primer. Then each mural was painted in a background–midground–foreground method. Although I did a few mock-ups for approval of the background colors, the actual images and items in each mural were painted from photos and put in the mural composition as I worked. I used photo references collected from a variety of resources including the Internet. Many children and adults suggested things (a mermaid, a shark, the divers, monkeys, etc.) which I then painted into the murals, (thank you for your input).Once each mural was complete, the surfaces were sealed with a few coats of acrylic gloss varnish and then a few coats of a water-based polyurethane gloss varnish, that is tough enough to be used on a floor.