Ellyn Bivin’s paintings brighten a wall in the gallery corridor at Erlanger.
Erlanger Health System presents Hope Springs, “A collection of paintings that bring a sense of hope and new life,” as the fourth installment by the Arts at Erlanger program.
The Hope Springs collection features five female artists from around the region; Ellyn Bivin, Hollie Berry, Angela Serre, Helen Jones, and Ali Kay. Light and airy images dominate the exhibit with a variety of landscapes, subjects and scenes.
Bivin is a Chattanooga native with a lifelong passion for art. She received her degree in Art Education and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University and attended University of Tennessee Chattanooga graduate school, focusing on combining old world etching with contemporary panting for a one-of-a-kind printmaking technique. Her four-legged friends and images from turn of the century photographs are a few of her favorite subjects.
Berry, a native Texan, has pursued art from the time she could grasp a pencil. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin. A few years later she moved to Chattanooga, where she found fresh inspiration. First, she created Dewdles, monumental land art drawings in the dewy lawn of Coolidge Park. These temporal works paved the way for more permanent opportunities like her first mural for the McCallie Walls Mural Project, Four Horsewomen, and collaborating with her engineer husband, Rudy Elizondo, on an interactive art installation of flying books installed in the Chattanooga Public Library. In 2015, she apprenticed under world renowned muralist Meg Saligman on the 40,000 sq. ft. Chattanooga mural We Shall Not Be Satisfied Until.
Southern charm and exaggerated realisms describe Serre’s personality and style. Influenced as a child by her grandmother’s talent and a book by watercolor artist Herb Olsen; her passion for art lead to a formal education at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. While years as a graphic designer in corporate America provided success, her love of painting continued with works spanning the globe. Her paintings and portraits are in private collections throughout the US and Europe. Serre’s inspiration derives from her travels, family and photos.
Jones' love of nature began with her Indiana childhood, in a yard filled with flowers, fruit trees, grape vines and birds. A graduate of Indiana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Jones had only four watercolor lessons while living in Atlanta, GA in 1984. Celebrities, banks, corporations, hospitals, designers and homeowners began commissioning her art that is inspired by her travels to the Greek islands, France, Canada, western states and the Caribbean. An extraordinarily versatile and detailed artist, Jones' mediums are watercolor, oil, acrylic, ink, charcoal and pencil. Her subjects vary from florals and wildlife to wall murals and automobiles.
Art has been Kay’s passion since childhood. She grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin, and founded her decorative painting company, Positive Space, in 2002 shortly after finishing high school at the age of 19. She studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee while simultaneously growing her mural and faux finishing business. After spending several years working with designers and architects creating unique interior spaces in Houston, TX, she settled in Chattanooga in 2013. She opened the new Positive Space Decorative Painting Studio at Chattanooga WorkSpace. Kay’s portfolio is vast including commission work in many different styles. She continues to create large scale murals, custom fine art and wall finishes while adding teaching to her list of services. Her work can be seen locally throughout Chattanooga as well as in the homes and businesses of her clients throughout the country.
The purpose of art in the hospital setting goes far beyond decoration. Recent studies show a direct link between art and the brain’s reaction to pain, stress and anxiety. A 2011 University of London study found that blood flow increased 10 percent to the “joy response” part of the brain when subjects saw a beautiful painting. The Arts at Erlanger program seeks to preserve and expand the healing, uplifting, and therapeutic art at all campuses in our medical system.
Bright and airy artwork lines the gallery corridor at Erlanger Baroness Campus.