Last fall, sculptor Dale Lamphere invited regional artists to collaborate with him on a project.?He said the range of work was extraordinary.
“And I have to admit, some of them were straight off the refrigerator,” he laughed. “We had 103 submissions. And from that, the art committee and I selected it down to 20 to be included in this community tapestry.
Lamphere asked people to present what healing means, visually. The work ranges across various mediums and Lamphere presents them all connected as one installation. A piece from artist Desy Schoenewie is in the collection and said the theme really hit home.
“I had just gone through a pretty rare diagnosis. And I had major surgery at the end of 2019,” she said. “So all of 2020 I was kind of recovering and kind of going through the process of recovery.”
She channeled it all into her piece.
“I included a Kestrel. A Kestrel is, of course, a very independent predator. And the Kestrel is sewing together four kinds of patterns and each one of those four represent certain aspects of healing,” she said.
The concept for the project comes from pandemic-related conversations between healthcare workers about healing. Elle Larson is the Art Committee Chair at Monument Health and said the tapestry has had a huge reaction.
“I mean, we have patients come in that say my family member did that. We have caregivers with their own art hanging in the spaces,” she said. “So, I think those connections really are what makes it special. “
The community tapestry is on display in the lobby of Monument Health in Rapid City. ?
This story comes from a recent interview on SDPB's weekday radio program, "In the Moment." Listen to the full interview below.