Client: Houston Methodist Woodlands Health Education and Learning Center

Overview

Colors of Hope and Healing radiates the color spectrum in the lobby of Houston Methodist’s, Woodlands Health Education and Learning Center (HEAL), in Woodlands, TX. The 12-panel art glass wall ensemble offers valuable opportunities for patients, staff, and visitors to pause, reflect, and absorb the beauty of colorful art glass. The undulating bends in the transparent and opalescent glass are designed to soothe the senses. Walking along the 20-foot wall of glass creates a delightful and sensory experience.

Goals

Houston Methodist's staff and their art consultant, Silver Chase Design, set out to select a US artist to create an art glass wall relief for a large lobby wall at the newly constructed Woodlands Health Education and Learning Center (HEAL). HEAL is a one-of-a-kind program focused on meeting the physical and emotional needs of patients and their families as they navigate recovery from cancer. The HEAL center's long narrow hallway provided a perfect opportunity for a multi-panel horizontal glass wall ensemble that greets guests upon entering. The goals included creating a distinct abstract design that integrated the full spectrum of color. In addition, the panels were to be made in sections with surface texture to create further visual and sensory interest. The colorful sheet glass was hand-cut into hundreds of rectangles, trapezoids, and triangles and laid out in a vertical pattern. Once the glass was melted in the kiln twice for the desired surface, the transparent, opaque, and reflective glass took on the look of faceted gems.

Process

Art consultant, Shahnaz Ghafoor, worked with master-level glass artist, Barbara Westfall, MFA, to bring the project to life. Emails, sketches, and phone conversations were facilitated between the art consultant and the artist. Ms. Ghafoor seamlessly bridged communication between herself, the artist, and the client. Sketches were finalized, colors were selected and a prototype was created and shipped for approval.

Once the go-ahead was given, the 12 panels were fabricated over two months. When the glass ensemble was completed, the artist consulted with a custom packaging company to build individual boxes for each 16"w x 24"h x 3"d panel of glass. A prototype box was built, and a test glass panel was shipped via UPS. The art arrived in perfect condition. Glass shipment boxes were ordered and fabricated. The glass was packaged and shipped to Texas.

The art consultant worked with a professional installer to hang all 12 panels on the wall. The glass was affixed to the lobby wall with 2-part metal standoffs provided by Hang Your Glass, Inc.

A reception followed the installation, and Houston Methodist staff unveiled the 20-foot wall of glass. The client and their guests were delighted with the results and praised the team at Silver Chase, and artist, Barbara Westfall.