WALTHAM -- It was a day at the beach at Children's Hospital Boston. While there was no worry about sunburns, swimming too deep or dehydration, there was sand aplenty.
As part of the Art for Kool Kidz program, 30 gallons of sand were brought into the lobby of the hospital for sand sculpture artist Lucinda "Sandy Feet" Weirenga to assemble a castle.
Crafted from a heap of sand in about three hours, the sculpture will be a permanent addition to the newly renovated operating room department.
"Artwork is a key piece in the whole mission of the hospital. It really is phenomenal arty work that takes the focus of some of the kids who come here to a different, more positive, place," said Steven Gordon, chief administrative officer at the hospital.
The aim of the Art for Kool Kidz is to transform hospitals into more friendly, less clinical places for young patients and their families.
The program, originating at Children's Hospital in Boston, has traveled to the year-old outpatient facility in Waltham. By including colorful art around the hospital for over a decade now, the program provides a "welcoming distraction" to patients and their families.
"It's different than what you would think of a hospital," said Gordon. None of the walls are white and the atmosphere created by the art and the activity walls can easily make you forget you are in a hospital.
With the assistance of Wilkins Art Associates, each department has a different motif. Radiology is filled with leaves and jungle animals, the clinical services department is full of vibrant greens and reds and portholes giving the room a certain character.
The biggest hit, no matter which department you happen to be in, are the fish tanks, said Gordon. Children flock to the tanks of colorful fish around all of the waiting rooms. The popularity of the fish tanks led to the operating room department choosing "A Walk on the Beach" as its theme.
The OR department, still a work in progress, is decorated in a serene blue theme, complete with waves on the walls, big fish tanks, fish lights over the reception desks, ocean paintings on the walls, colorful sea creature sculptures lining the tops of the walls for patients being transported on stretchers.
"I don't do anything this permanent often," said Weirenga, as she crafted the castle. "It's a little weird, when I build a sandcastle, I don't expect it to last very long. The temporary nature of sand castles is part of their charm.
