Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary

Art Program

One of the programs supported by the Auxiliary provides art from local artists to enhance the beauty and serenity of the surroundings at the hospital campuses for the benefit of patients and visitors. These lovely works of art come in all forms, and are on display in public areas as well as a variety of patient rooms.

Below are examples of our featured artists, Lorrie Caplan, Sallie Smith, and two quilt artists Barbara Frey and Jeanne Gray and their lovely pieces that have been added this year.

Barbara Frey & Jeanne Gray




Two local artists designed handmade quilts for The Birthing Center at Foothills Hospital. Barb Frey and Jeanne Gray, both nurses morphed into creative quilt artists, donated weeks of their time to producing these art quilts for the BCH Auxiliary. Lush Anticipation, a large quilt by Barb, is displayed in the lobby outside the Labor and Delivery Rooms. “The world of art quilts is often misunderstood,” she says. “It is a world of an artist who uses fabric, paint, and thread to creatively express and explore ideas that come from within. It is also a means to dialog with viewers, to find a connection between her life and theirs.” Thus, it is singularly appropriate that Barb’s original quilt art is displayed in a public area of the Birthing Center. More of Barb’s work can be viewed on her website, www.barbfrey.com Jeanne’s five-piece display, titled Forest Floor, is hung outside the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery. These five lush quilts provide a restful yet intriguing display for this private area. The side-by-side, framed quilts lead the viewer deeper and deeper into a sense of soothing and enveloping forest. Jeanne considers herself “a full-time artist still dabbling in nursing.” After a lifetime of creative sewing, a 1990 move to Colorado severed her connections with the fabric art world until a stint at Camp Quilt-Em-Up in Estes Park ignited her “fire” again. After that, she says, “I did just a few traditional quilts before losing interest in following someone else’s designs. Instead, I struck out on my own. I dye, paint, stamp, discharge, stitch and snip all of my own fabric.” One result of such intense creativity is the five-piece group now welcoming the families of newborns at Foothills Hospital. Jeanne can be reached at megaquilter@comcast.net

Sallie K. Smith

	Colorado “gold” gleams from the walls at 2W/Ortho Neuro thanks to the BCH Auxiliary. Three original paintings by Boulder artist Sallie K. Smith offer viewers a “trip” into the glories of a Colorado fall in the mountains. Golden Child features a gleaming aspen on the edge of a green conifer forest,
Welcoming Committee leads the viewer past an unusually full, golden aspen into the forest beyond,
images courtsey and copyright Sallie K Smith	and Family Gathering is aptly named for the group of mature aspens surrounded by new growth. The Auxiliary has purchased a total of five of Sallie’s paintings to brighten patient rooms.
The rich colors she uses makes Sallie’s paintings vibrate with energy and light. Discussing her work, Sallie says, “I use rich color without apology…it is what I see and working with it gives me great pleasure. I have been drawing ever since I can remember but I didn’t start painting until I was nearly 50. “Painting allows me to linger, to develop an intimate relationship with the subject I am painting. I believe my ability to produce art is a wonderful gift, the process a special way to experience life, and sharing it with others a privilege.” BCH is indeed privileged to share Sallie’s talent. More about Sallie and her artwork are available at www.sallieksmith.com.
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Lorrie Caplan

The BCH Auxiliary also recently purchased vibrant abstract watercolor paintings, by Longmont artist Lorrie Caplan. One titled, BEYOND BELIEF, is a subtle and beautifully refined elegant invitation into nature. It hangs in a Labor and Delivery Room at Foothills Hospital. Four others grace individual patient’s rooms in the main hospital	image courtsey and © Lorrie Caplan
Most all of Lorrie’s watercolors are powerful with whimsical overtones. Many of her pieces are demonstration of expression. Critics have said that Lorrie “paints from her soul—it is more than flow—it is a fountain of never ending resource, a force that cannot be turned off.” The dramatic palette of color Lorrie uses offers a welcome respite that highlights the room. Lorrie explains that her work is influenced by her early years as a calligrapher. “My abstract watercolors have been said “to impact people’s lives by healing, energizing and making a difference in the world we live in,” she reports. “I am honored and blessed to be able to be affiliated with BCH Auxiliary,” she said. Collections of Lorrie’s paintings are often displayed in public venues and more information is available on her website www.lorriecaplan.com.
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Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary c/o Volunteer Services P.O. Box 9019 1100 Balsam Boulder, Colorado 80301-9019 Phone: 303-440-2183 * Fax: 303-440-2138	Home \| Events \| News \| About Us \| Boulder Community Hosptial \| Contact Us © 2007 Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary