Oregon students unveil artwork at Mercy Health – ­­­St. Charles

        Local artist, muralist and Clay High 1996 alum, Dean Davis, reconnected with his high school art teacher, Kristin Wamer, and developed a plan to bring an artist-in-residence opportunity to the students at Clay High School and Fassett Jr. High School.
        While on a visit at Clay, Davis discovered plexiglass panels at the school, remnants of the pandemic years. He envisioned a project that would allow students use the panels as a canvas to create a piece of art.
        “Art has a therapeutic ability to heal, and to create something meaningful and beautiful visually out of the panels can be very uplifting and healing in nature,” Davis said.
        “The visual content of this artwork was crafted after Dean asked our students ‘what imagery gives you hope and makes you want to be the best version of yourself?’” Wamer said.
        The students shared a variety of images with Davis, including hands, flowers, nature and butterflies, setting the vision for a project called, “Hope & Thrive.”
        Wamer requested an Impact Grant she aptly named “Hope & Thrive” from the Oregon Schools Foundation to fund the art supplies necessary to complete the project. After her grant request was approved, she worked with Davis and her colleague, Leah Walsh, toward implementation of the unique idea.
        The project timeline included one day of demonstration at Clay for students and instructors to learn techniques to paint on this medium with acrylic, and two weeks of Davis as artist-in-residence working with the art students at Clay directly.           
        The first week at Clay was centered around students’ personal development, led by Davis, to create their own multi-layered artwork on plexiglass. The second week was focused on a smaller group of 18 students from across grades 9-12 collaborating and guided by Davis to create the final artwork in the “Hope & Thrive” project.
        In addition to the two weeks at Clay, Davis spent two more days as artist-in-residence at Fassett Jr. High, working
with Michael Katschke and 12 art students to create the exhibit, “Galactic Dreams.”
        “I asked my art students to think about how the pandemic affected their everyday lives at school and at home, then to write a few words down on how their lives have changed since they were at home during the pandemic,” Katschke said. “After some discussion, students ultimately decided that they were Eagles and that if they could endure and make it through something as isolating as the pandemic, then they could make it through anything. They were asked to think ‘big’ on this vision. So was the sky the limit, or was it space now? This artwork reveals their message that Fassett Eagles soar high and dream big.”
        Davis said, “I really wanted to honor these students and display their artwork in the community at a level that many would get to experience and enjoy it.” He reached out to the leadership at Mercy Health – St. Charles Hospital to inquire about a gallery opportunity in the hospital to showcase the student artwork publicly – a project that could also enhance hospital visitors’ experiences.
        “I have collaborated with St. Charles on a couple of other projects, and I knew this was the right place for these two pieces,” Davis said.
        In his role as president of Mercy Health – St. Charles, Craig Albers has collaborated with Oregon City Schools on multiple levels and on many projects. When the concept of this display was discussed, Albers said he would be pleased to partner with Dean and Oregon Schools once again. “Our community continues to heal from the long-lasting impact of the pandemic. One symbolic way of doing that is by using the materials that once stood as barriers between us, in a newly created, unique form of art that helps unite us as we appreciate the amazing wonders of life,” he said. “Mercy Health – St. Charles is proud to share these works of art with the community and our staff as we all continue to heal and move forward in life after the pandemic.”
        “Hope & Thrive” is on display in the Mercy Health – St. Charles Main Lobby. “Galactic Dreams” is on display in the ER waiting room. The artwork will be exhibited through the summer months.
        Oregon Schools Superintendent Hal Gregory also credited S&D Capital Financial Advisors and Dolores Glauser (CHS ’55) for providing support to make this project a reality.