IU Jay display

The blue wall of the south hallway at the hospital got a little more personality this week.

IU Health Jay has partnered with Jay County High School to display student art in the facility, with the first pieces being hung this week.

“We’re excited about this adventure,” said Christina Schemenaur, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer for IU Health Jay. “It’s just a way for us to display some of the talent in the community.”

She explained that the idea for swapping out the hospital’s “drab” existing artwork that dates back decades came from IU Health Jay nurse Lisa Manor. She initially suggested opening up the walls to display work from hospital employees.

When that opportunity failed to yield any submissions, Schemenaur started looking for other options this summer. That included reaching out to Jay County High School art teacher Tami Tillman, who was on board with the idea of displaying student art at the hospital.

“As the kids are creating artwork, learning to let go of it, number one, is really important,” said Tillman. “Because that’s hard.

“Number two, to be identified as an artist, not just a student … it’s important. This is something they can put on their resume. …

“And it’s giving back to the community.”

She asked students if they would be interested in having their work displayed, and this week 15 pieces by 13 students were hung in the south hallway between entrances A and B. They range from work done by students in Tillman’s Level 1 high school classes to those in college-level courses covering color and design theory and art history through Ivy Tech.

Zander Hudson explained the process he used to create a white on black portrait of his dog Zoey.

“I used a series of strokes and stippling, where you dot it to create a texture for her face,” he said.

Isabella Puusepp, an exchange student from Estonia, has two pieces on display at the hospital. One is of a leaf she picked up in her neighbor’s yard — it was her first project upon joining Tillman’s class — and the other is of Smokey, her favorite cat to cuddle with as she spends the year with host parents Chris and Jennifer Nibarger.

“It’s a fun experience,” said Puusepp upon seeing her pieces on display at IU Health Jay. “I don’t have that kind of experience at home. … It makes it so much more fun.”

In addition to Hudson and Puusepp, other student artists currently with work on display at the hospital are Riley Garland, Emily Smith, Max Klopfenstein, Peyton Shannon, Lucie Henneaux, Jovanna Markovic, Lily Richards, Dylan Marentes, Tinatin Japaridze, Brooke Retter and 2023 graduate Olivia Duncan.

There are a couple of leaves, like Puusepp’s, which were part of a project that involved drawing and then filling in the veins using different techniques and textures. Other pieces involve hatching, cross-hatching and stippling, such as Hudson’s dog, and Duncan’s work in pastels is from the Intro to 2D Art class she took last year.

With the initial 15 pieces in place, the plan is to keep expanding the displays of local art. More pieces from Jay County High School will be added through the course of the school year. Tillman said she’d also like to offer the opportunity to junior high students.

Schemenaur recently reached out to Fort Recovery High School about having student art displayed at the hospital. She also expressed an interest in continuing to offer the opportunity to IU Health Jay employees and to adult artists in the community.

“I would love to fill all the blank space in the hallway, move the waiting areas,” said Schemenaur. “If we get enough interest, move it to the doctor’s office and their waiting areas, even some of the patient rooms.”

She noted that IU Health Ball in Muncie offers space to local artists to display and sell their work, but that she’s unaware of another facility in the system that has focused on student art.

Manor is thrilled to see her idea coming to life.

“I’ve been to other facilities that had similar things, artwork by local people,” she said. “I thought, ‘We don’t have anything like that.’ And what better way to join our hospital with our community than to bring community works in here. It just makes my heart happy.”