Hand-made tiles with hospital staff
and patient’s mindful doodles
Leverndale Hospital, Glasgow
A Public Art Commission for ‘Design in the Dale’. The Commission brief was to create a series of external art and design interventions to support wayfinding and provide creative experiences for patients and staff when walking the hospital grounds. There are 3 creative elements produced for the Commisison – the mural, the seats and here the four external tile installations.
‘Design in the Dale’ is made up of a cross-section of NHS staff, voluntary sector organisations and service user volunteers, who are working to enhance the experience of Leverndale Hospital’s in-patient community by welcoming arts into the hospital and improving the aesthetic appeal of the local environment for all.
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For this Commission, I created a colour palette and design narrative that had a biophilic approach to all the elements. In this way, the art and design interventions encourage a sense of calm and rest by connecting to nature and the natural environment.
My Commission’s aim was to develop ways Hospital patients and staff can contribute and generate material for my design concepts and ensure a sense of placemaking by and for patients. These art interventions along the path and within the Hospital grounds create an empathetic design narrative for wayfinding and enhance their understanding and experience of the external spaces.
In early 2020, before the pandemic, I worked with patients & staff from Leverndale Hospital in mindful doodling workshops. My design intent was to scan these drawings and print them onto hand-made tiles for external wall installations, with the petal-shaped tiles forming a biophilic flora, like mindful ‘crafted’ moss on the buildings for way-finding along the new path! There are 4 installations in all.
Each tile is hand-made and thus unique. For this element of the Commission, I worked with wonderful & talented ceramic artist Charlotte Cadzow who made these hand-made gems and for printing the patient and staff drawings onto the tiles I worked with Tilefire.
