A new, vibrant mural highlighting the healing journey created by three Socorro ISD art teachers was unveiled this spring at The Hospitals of Providence East Campus.
Julian Vidales and Ivan Ortega from Pebble Hills High School and Miguel Picos from El Dorado High School created the piece to bring hope, comfort, and a calming environment to the hospital's new wing, which was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on March 2. The project represented a collaborative effort between the hospital and the school district to strengthen community connections through art.
Titled “Healing with Love” the mural features butterflies and birds set against red, white and blue stripes and prominently spells out the word “healing” followed by “with love” in white letters.
“We basically took the design and clipped it into the letters of 'healing with love' because we just want patients to feel that sense of that positive transition as they're moving from one area to this other unit where, hopefully, they're on their way to recovery through whatever challenges it is they're facing,” Vidales said.
Inspired by the themes of life, growth, hope, happiness, healing and new beginnings, the mural reflects the powerful connection between art and the healing journey. It was designed to uplift the spirit, honor resilience and offer comfort and unity to all who pass by.
Ortega said that the mural not only aims to inspire patients during their healing journey but also to uplift anyone in the community facing personal challenges.
“I think anybody that's just going through their own personal healing, I think that's the bigger message in the whole mural,” Ortega said.
“(It’s) for everybody that has to go through that healing process of whatever they're enduring. I think that it's important to keep that word in your brain and ingrained into the outcome of what's going to happen. It's a hopeful word, and it's a word that means that, and then with love is to give a little extra on that word,” Ortega added.