About Robin:

Growing up hearing about the agonies my parents went through the first three months of my life -- spent in an incubator, having been 2.2 pounds at birth and needing major thoracic surgery -- I always thought hospitals were a scary place. My Mom's decades-long struggle to oveercome the after effects of childhood Rheumatic fever consistently reinforced that impression. Even though technology is ever improving, and the doctors and nurses are wonderful, most healthcare facilities still seem unfriendly and not places designed to heal. Not places that support the patients' emotional well-being and a desire to return to the land of the living.

Our life-path of helping ease the emotional distress in hospitals began in 1978.

It was a year of major change for us. Robin and Astor, after years of freindship, committed to being together (and married in 1988). Robin had her first trip to Europe. Those experiences, followed by Kaiser-Permanente buying big prints for a facility, solidified the shift in focus from fashion photography (the reason for going to Paris) to landscapes for healthcare.

In 1990 we began attending the Healthcare Design Symposium annual conferences, and met many like-minded professionals. We were tremendously impacted by Dr. Roger Ulrich PhD, who seemed to feel as we did, that photographic nature art scenes are the key to reducing stress in the healthcare environment. He is the leader in conducting research on the impact art has on patient outcomes, and is widely published and quoted. We will never forget his remark about mental patients trying to remove disturbing abstract art from the walls with their spoons! Other attendees included policy leaders for Army, Navy and Air Force hospitals; they speedily put into places - using us - the lessons learned at the symposium.

In the almost 30 years we have been providing art for healthcare facilities, our project list has grown, as has our expertise and ability to offer spectacular photographic art. It is why we trademarked the phrase "The ART of Healing". Our staff has grown too: we have a 17 year-old son who will take our mission on to the next generation, and a security force of 7 golden retrievers.

What has not changed is our commitment to treat every project as our Most Important Project. Our insistance on providing a plethora of options is legendary. Some say too many options! Our policy is "we offer suggestions, you make the decisions". We are artists, not salespeople. We continue to turn clients into Friends. You have probably seen the hugs we get when we exhibit at ASHE, DoD Joint Services, AMA, or the Symposium for Healthcare Design. Most of our business is repeat customers or referrals, and our list of references is endless.

We have installed major projects from Japan to Germany, and most points between. Because of our eagerness to do custom proposals, including photography just for them when possible, we have become the favorite art source for the Department of Defense healthcare facilities. Our effort to support our troops has led us from the deserts of Nevada to the bluebonnets of Texas; the azaleas of Georgia to the fachwerk of the Romantikstrasse. You can see a synopsis of this taht we have titled "With Love" on Army Knowledge Online (AKO); free printable greeting cards for family to send to deployed military on Army Chief of Chaplains page.

Our spectacular prints and transparency panels ( walls and overhead lighting fixtures) were what Northwestern Memorial Hospital referred to as their "healing art" when they opened a few years ago. They realized, as do our other clients, that while sculptures, painting, collages, silk-screens and posters offer variety in the art program, photographic nature art is the only medium that truly resonates on a human's deepest subconsious level. And that painterly scenes, rather that close-ups (though we include detail shots for intimate details) offer the viewer a moment of emotional escape. A place to let the mind wander to.

Our proposals are without cost or obligation. The art is selected to fit each individual space, taking into accout geographical location of the facility, patient population, wayfinding needs, lighting, color harmonies, staff preferences and budget. We too the photograqphs (all 250,000 of them) select the photographs, supervise their production, and sign each one with pride.

Our goal is to have perfect window-like scenes, with their accopmanying detail images, become a part of the identity of that hallway, clinic, or waiting area. All the images seen at one time shoulf look like they are perect moments of the same day (even though they may be seperated by decades and continents). The selection morphs from theme to theme, so it is not deja-vu all over again. Its works. Just ask anyone who has been to the DeLorenzo Tri-Care Clinic at the Pentagon.

We can work from blueprints and color samples, and can supplement that with on-site visits. We offer service and support from the idea stage through walking the finished facitity and attending the dedication. All we charge for is the art on the wall (or ceiling)

It is our passion in life to make the world a better place, for people at their time of extreme need.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It would be an honor to work with you.

Robin