While in a doctor's waiting room, glancing at the sterile environment, Finksburg artist Lisa Fiedler Jaworski said she began brainstorming ways to lighten up the atmosphere of waiting rooms and hospitals.
She settled on creating a line of "InspiringFlowers" multimedia paintings that incorporate images of flowers, inspirational sayings and the inclusion of mustard seeds.
To aid the sold-out Carroll Hospital Center Auxiliary Gala's Masterpiece Evening, Jaworski will perform a live painting demonstration, allowing visitors a chance to see her process evolve from mostly empty canvas to full work of art.
At the event, Jaworski will paint a 20-by-20-inch painting of coneflowers with inspirational phrases collaged into the painting. Recently, 20 of Jaworski's paintings were installed at the Tevis Center for Wellness, which opened Oct. 1 at the Carroll Hospital Center. In addition to the decorative paintings, the Wellness Boutique at the Tevis Center also features Jaworski's work for sale.
"I've loved flowers my whole life. I've been painting flowers since I was little," Jaworski said. "I got my start painting a sunflower, which is a healing flower, for a doctor's office and they loved it."
The three-dimensional paintings also feature mustard seeds, in reference to the Biblical verse about the power of faith as small as a mustard seed, embedded into the center of the flowers.
Mary Richards, director of volunteer services at the hospital, said she was impressed by Jaworski's artwork when she first saw it. Jaworski said after painting her first work for a doctor's office waiting room, it was the positive response that encouraged her to continue the series.
"I got a letter from a patient in the office who happened to be my first-grade teacher, and she wanted to thank me because my painting had made her cry," Jaworski said. "Once you help people, you want to do more and more. This is my way of helping other people who are sick."
Jaworski will paint in a side room decorated as a library to fit with the "Downton Abbey" theme of the gala, based off of the hit British show.
The side room has been used as a quieter socialization space in contrast to the ballroom, Richards said. They have had musicians and entertainers at former galas, but Richards said this is the first year to do a live painting. She said the idea is to tie the gala to the new Wellness Center through Jaworski's artwork.
Jaworski will begin the piece at home, adding the collage and mustard seed elements to allow them time to dry before the event. She will complete the painting live at the event, where it will then be auctioned off.
"I've done live painting a couple of times. One time, I was doing a small demonstration for a garden club. Another time, I painted a painting in four minutes during a song at church," Jaworski said. "It's a little nerve-wracking because people are going to be watching or walking by, but it's still a lot of fun."
In addition to the obvious signifiers of her work, Jaworski often also hides the word believe throughout her work, reminiscent of a linguistic "Where's Waldo."
"I want people to see how I do that process," Jaworski said. "To be able to search for and find words in a painting gives you an added bonus. Not only is it art, you can find things in it like a word search. It gives you a little activity to do."
Reach staff writer Jacob deNobel at 410-857-7890 or jacob.denobel@carrollcountytimes.com.
