VANCOUVER -- A retired art teacher has unveiled her latest mural for young patients at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center.
“My favorites are the bird and the penguin,” said 4-year-old Logan Volk after seeing the art, which brightens a stairwell.
The mural of sea creatures in water was created in three weeks by Rebecca Anstine.
“It’s a lot of work. But remember, I was a school teacher. That was more work. This is just fun!” Said the 68-year-old, who taught math and art for 30 years in the Vancouver School District.
Anstine’s work is also found in the pediatric emergency room at the hospital.
Her first mural, finished in February, features children playing in a park while three dogs watch.
“I answered in ad in the local newspaper,” she said. And that's how she made a connection with the hospital. Her proposal was selected from more than a dozen entries.
“She’s been a real gift to this hospital,” said therapist Joanna Blanchard. “We’re going to use this staircase like crazy.”
The new mural decorates a set of stairs used frequently for young patients undergoing physical therapy.
“I can have them count the spots on the fish or high-five the penguin. It’s so much better than saying, 'Do the stairs five times,'” Blanchard said. A brick wall outside the short-stay surgery unit will become the next canvas as Anstine leads a team of volunteers in September to create more mural magic.
“She’s not a big attention seeker but she puts up with us making a big deal of it because she loves the work,” a grateful Blanchard concluded.
