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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2017)
6 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Healing art part of new cancer center Open house to be held Oct. 15 of North American ornamental trees and a representation of the hospital’s patient-centered By EDWARD STRATTON ethos — done by ceramicist Richard Rowland. COAST WEEKEND Laman had approached Rowland, locally famous for his large, wood-fueled anagama kiln — a type of ceramic firing technique that hris Laman, director of Columbia Me- originated in China some 4,000 years ago — morial Hospital’s pharmacy and cancer and asked if he could create something similar care, said he wanted the community to at the cancer center from broken pieces of be involved in the building of the new Knight pottery. Rowland, an adjunct ceramics instruc- Cancer Collaborative, a partnership with Ore- tor at the college, had been in the middle of gon Health & Science University. building a new kiln, but took a year off to focus Like hiring local subcontractors to help fin- on the mosaic. ish the new cancer treatment center, that meant “I knew it was the right project, because reaching out to about 20 artists to populate it (of) the cancer center being important in the with pieces designed to help patients going community,” he said. “I knew right through radiation and chemotherapy. away I had to take time off from my The cancer center will hold an WHEN TO regular work.” open house 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. Rowland started with an at-scale 15. And, in November, the artists SEE THE drawing on transparent plastic, later whose work is featured at the cen- CENTER creating molds of the branches and ter will be on hand during Astoria’s leaves spread over about 80 1-square- Second Saturday Art Walk to explain The cancer foot tiles. their pieces. center, at 1905 Testing and firing the tiles took Exchange St., three rounds in Rowland’s kiln, each Bringing nature in will hold an requiring five cords of dry wood. Randy McClelland, the hospital’s open house 2 Donations of dry wood came in from director of strategic initiatives, was all around the world, he said. David in charge of gathering artwork for the to 4 p.m. Sun- day, Oct. 15. Nygaard, a member of the hospital’s cancer center. board of trustees and head of Warren- “Every single piece that went into At 4 p.m. ton Fiber Co., trucked in 10 cords of the cancer center was created for the Saturday, Nov. dry wood for the project. cancer center,” McClelland said. One 11, during next Preparing the kiln takes three exception was artist John Stahl, who month’s Second days, along with another 110 hours of died in January but had several of his Saturday Art continuous firing, McClelland said. pieces posthumously selected. Walk, the center Volunteers converged at Rowland’s Artists were given guidelines on will open again, property in July to cut wood, load the art in a healing environment by the with artists on kiln and complete the final two firings hospital’s consultant from the Plan- hand to talk of the tiles. etree Alliance, a group of more than about their “It was back to back,” McClel- 60 health organizations worldwide pieces and a land said. “We had to unload the kiln focused on patient-centered care. “The idea behind it is to bring in presentation by when it was 130 degrees inside. Then we turned right around and did the that healing aspect of nature,” said Rowland titled Felicia Struve, a spokeswoman for the “Art: A Commu- reloading again, just immediately.” Earlier this month, crews from hospital. nity Connection P&C Construction installed Row- Throughout the heavily wood-cov- for Healing.” land’s mosaic on the side of the ered and earth-toned cancer center are cancer center’s radiation therapy pieces incorporating nature and local chamber, around which will be built a artistry. healing garden. Rowland was the first to touch Hanging high above the front lobby are the finished installation, followed a couple several paper lights, made to look like seed days later by the entire staff of the new cancer balls of the plane tree, created by Lam Quang center. Such was the vision of the mural, and Kestrel Gates of HiiH Lights. Murals in the McClelland said, to help provide some positive hallway incorporate local flora used in cancer energy to patients, friends and family during a treatment. A locally fallen tree provides a con- difficult time. ference table. “We have an example of one of the greatest healing environments that healthcare can pro- Plane tree vide,” McClelland said. “I feel like everyone The centerpiece of the center’s art is a 2-ton has come together at the end.” CW bah relief mosaic of a plane tree — a genus C PHOTO BY EDWARD STRATTON Ceramicist Richard Rowland said he spent about one year designing and building a 2-ton plane tree exhibit for Columbia Memorial Hospital’s new Knight Cancer Collaborative.
