At Pennsylvania Hospital, staff often have the chance to observe their colleagues’ compassionate attitudes and technical knowledge, but the hospital’s hustle and bustle may prevent them from getting a glimpse of other talents. To give staff the chance to share their artistic abilities, PAH hosted an employee art show during Penn Medicine Experience Week. More than 60 pieces were exhibited, and employees, patients, and visitors pored over paintings, praised photographs, and admired creative crafts throughout the week.
One of the artists who shared their original works was Heather Coyle, an art teacher at the Mill Creek School — a high school that is affiliated with PAH and specializes in teaching students with with emotional, academic, and social concerns. Coyle, who submitted five of her landscapes to the employee art show, particularly enjoys painting outdoors and can often be found with her oil paints or watercolors at the ready.
She also understands the healing power of art. Just as art programs hosted throughout the health system encourage patients to express themselves and process their experiences, Coyle’s classes provide a cathartic outlet for students to share their emotions.
Whether they’re crafting abstract paintings full of color and texture, or visiting an alpaca farm during a unit on textiles and weaving, Coyle always aims to build choice into her students’ artistic process.
“The parameters are wide open, and they really benefit from that level of choice-based art,” she said. “Many of them come in saying, ‘I haven’t made art since middle school. I won’t be very good at this,’ but then I hand them a blank canvas, and they create something beautiful. They come to see the potential that they didn’t realize they had. It builds their confidence and self-worth in so many ways.”
And just as Coyle was able to figuratively paint a fuller picture of herself for her PAH colleagues by sharing her work, her students are able to showcase their growth at the end of each school year through their own art show. “We turn the second floor of the school into a gallery, and everyone’s wonderful work is shown,” she said. “Whether I’m working with these unique students on a daily basis or creating my own pieces, I always have my hand in art, and it’s extremely gratifying.”