Press Coverage of Mural Project

Read more about Floating at:

http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/361.0.html?&tx_mininews_pi1[showUid]=1955&tx_mininews_pi1[backPid]=51&cHash=fd2b37c75f

http://www.northpeel.com/entertainment/article/35161

http://www1.sheridaninstitute.ca/corporate/news/2007/uplifting.cfm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INSPIRED ALUMNI CREATE UPLIFTING MURAL

Alumni of the Art & Art History Program (University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College) create 70-foot-long mural for Princess Margaret Hospital

Nov 01, 2007, Toronto

Alumni of Art & Art History worked with Annie Smith, program founder and former professor, to create the collaborative artwork, entitled ‘Floating’.
An opening reception for the project, installed in the Ambulance Waiting Area, was held on Wed. Oct 24 at 7:30 pm.

The alumni (Laurie Kallis, Denise Macharacek, Julie Saunders, Giovanni Senisi, Ayako Shimizu and Artemis Theophylactou) chose the Ambulance Bay Waiting Area at the request of the nurses and doctors of Princess Margaret Hospital. With no windows to the outside, patients in this room needed a little artistry in their surroundings to help pass the time.

‘Floating’ is a photographic panorama of bright blue sky and clouds, running as a frieze just below ceiling level, around the perimeter of the room. Drawings and photographs by the participants are depicted inside bubbles, which ‘float’ throughout the sky and even out into other areas of the room, providing opportunities for close-up examination and contemplation of the wide variety of whimsical imagery.

Dr. Annie Smith was the author of the award-winning book Bearing Up with Cancer: Life, and Living With…. This book, illustrated with her signature caricature bear, chronicles her life over the past two decades since first being diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Smith was involved with a variety of other art projects at Princess Margaret Hospital, created with the students of the Art & Art History Program. She passed away on Oct. 31, 2007.

With thanks to: Andrew Patrick, Epson Canada Limited for printing, Mondrian-Hall Inc. for mounting and laminating, Jackie Osmond Patrick for production assistance and Artery Studios Inc. for prototype production.

Princess Margaret Hospital is located at 610 University Ave. Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2M9.

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If you would like more information or images from this project, please contact Julie Saunders at julie.saunders@utoronto.ca, ph 416-345-8983 x22, or visit the project blog at http://www.pmhmural.blogspot.com/.

Plaque design

Here is our final plaque design.

Final files sent to print

Yesterday Laurie and I did an installation of our final rough prints to check for overall appearance and fit. After some modifications, the files were sent off this morning for final printing and mounting. We should be ready to install by the end of September.

Final files (all)

Here are final files for all of the sky sections and free-floating bubbles. Laurie and I will do a test installation of the rough prints tomorrow (Sep 12), then they'll be sent off for final printing and mounting.

Final files (10 of 12)

Here are (hopefully) final files for 10 of 12 panels. Skies have been assembled and cropped to size for the remaining 2 panels (note that some of the longer walls require 2 or 3 panels). Jackie will be bringing a test print to the hospital tomorrow, and then will do a test mounting after colour approval. All final files should be complete this upcoming weekend (by end of Aug.), so printing and mounting will be underway beginning Sep.

Notes from Apr 28 meeting

Hi everyone,

Our next meeting will be Sat. May 26 at 1:00pm. Arta, you wanted to
check your calendar about that date. Ayako and Laurie, you weren't
there when we decided on it. I believe Sun. May 27 was also a
possibility for everyone, if that date would work better. Please let
me know if Sat. May 26 will not work.

For our next meeting, I will bring printed out bubbles for everyone's
submissions.

Arta will try to pick up the sample material from the printer that
Laurie had quoted, which will give us some idea of mounting/laminating
possibilities.

I think that after our next meeting (if we have firm decisions on
bubbles and figures), I will be able to begin assembling our final
files.

Below are notes from our last meeting.

Thanks,
Julie

At our Apr 28 meeting, we looked at full-length figures. We liked both
catching and blowing bubbles figures. The medium size of about 3 feet
tall seemed best. There is some concern about how finely detailed they
can be cut - we may need to create figures with cupped hands rather
than spread open fingers to help minimize fine cutting.

We looked at a sample of bubbles. It was agreed that line drawings
would work best as white lines, rather than black. It was also agreed
that the combination of the line drawings and Laurie's photographic
images worked well. Julie brought a few other photographic bubble
experiments (one of Laurie's birds inverted so that it was a white
silhouette, and some leaf shadows). Denise and Annie selected their
top five drawings picks. Giovanni and Arta asked Julie to choose from
their submissions when creating their bubbles.