ROCKPORT — The sight of art and nature coexisting can be incredibly therapeutic. Surrounded by the trees, flowers, animals and beautiful scenery of Penobscot Bay, Pen Bay Medical Center is integrating with nature with 11 oval-shaped pendants installed along its 1.5-mile Wellness Trail. Each pendant, created by local artists Peter Walls and Allegra Kuhn, is 3 feet wide, 4 feet tall and mounted on a 12-foot pole, and is intended to draw attention to the charms of the surrounding landscape and enhance the healing environment.
“We both come from sculpture backgrounds, and what we created brings us back to our origins, taking our art off the walls and into the forest,” Walls said in a PBMC news release. “Creating this ‘jewelry’ for the forest draws people’s attention to how special these protected lands, flora and fauna are. We hope the pendants open eyes to see the forest in a different way and celebrate how special and beautiful it is.”
Walls and Kuhn recently installed 12 pendants at Stover Preserve in Belfast and are now bringing their work to Knox County. Walls said the inspiration for the artwork came from experiencing nature at work while exploring the Pen Bay Trail over several months.
“We are thrilled to bring this new art to our campus,” said Ellie Willman, vice president of philanthropy at Penbay Wold County General Hospital in Belfast. “These pendants reflect the hospital’s commitment to showcasing the work of local artists not only inside our walls, but now outside as well, connecting care team members, patients and visitors with the warmth and tranquility of nature.”
The Pen Bay Wellness Trail is open to all community members and runs along the perimeter of the Pen Bay property, offering views of the woods, ocean and hospital. For more information about the trail, visit mainehealth.org/pen-bay-medical-center/community-health.
Pen Bay Medical Center
Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system. MaineHealth is comprised of more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through nine community hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral health network, diagnostic services, home health agencies and accountable care organizations. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England, providing preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, visit pbmc.org.
