When the white walls at California Children’s Services (CCS) in Palo Alto became too clinical-looking to bear, Ji Young Pak decided it was time for a change.
In April, Michelle McCauley, the mother of a patient, and Robin Sulic, owner of Drawn2Art in Los Altos, produced the change Pak was looking for. They decorated the depressing white walls with two murals depicting giant mushroom houses, flowers, smiling gnomes and other child-friendly images.
The literal change of scenery at the CCS center – located on the Juana Briones Elementary School campus at 4100 Orme St. – has proven beneficial to her patients, Pak said.
“In the sense that this is a children’s therapy unit, you want it to be kind of friendly for kids,” said Pak, an occupational therapist for CCS, a statewide program that provides medical and rehabilitative services to more than 1,200 Santa Clara County children annually. “The decor didn’t show anything that related to kids. You want them to be excited to come to therapy. This is just one little extra thing where they can get excited to come.”
A group effort
Pak said the creation of the two murals – which adorn the main hallway and the children’s waiting room – wouldn’t be possible without the help of McCauley and Sulic.
Pak said she initially approached McCauley, a Los Altos mother of three who had previously enrolled her children in several Drawn2Art classes, after she donated two pieces of artwork to liven up the facility.
“My first impression was that it was just like another medical building,” recalled McCauley, whose 7-year-old son Keenan receives therapy from Pak weekly in Palo Alto.
McCauley, in turn, set her sights on Sulic and Drawn2Art instructor Katie Arentz, requesting their help to create the mural.
The answer, according to Sulic, was an easy one.
“The thing that got me to do it was the one thing I remember about my school growing up – all of the murals we had,” said Sulic, who donated her time and paint supplies to create the mural. “Any reason not to do it would have been pretty selfish.”
Sulic said the mural concept “took about two seconds” to create. Sulic and Arentz completed the entire project in approximately one month.
According to Pak, the mural has helped her patients become relaxed prior to the start of their therapy sessions. Having the murals in place, she added, has made the job of treating patients easier as well.
“You want them to be focused and organized when we treat them,” Pak said. “A lot of the time we only treat them for 45 minutes to an hour, and their mood really affects how (much) we can work with them. When they’re focused, we can work harder and get more out of them. There’s more carry-over.”
McCauley agreed, noting the positive effect the center’s new look has had on her own son.
“It sets the tone,” said McCauley, who added that Keenan attends Drawn2Art classes to practice his fine-motor skills. “I don’t think (the therapists) are able to accomplish as much without that rapport with the child. You can do that by having the child at ease.”
The murals, Pak noted, have also had a positive impact on the CCS staff.
“Even for us as therapists, it changes the atmosphere from more of a clinical type of place to a fun atmosphere,” she said. “We walk by it and get pleasure out of it. Our moods change as well.”
At the end of the day, Sulic said the chance to help someone else with art is the benefit she appreciates most.
“It was great,” Sulic said of the experience. “There’s definitely something to be said for doing something and having everyone get excited about it. It just feels good.”
For more information on Drawn2Art, visit www.kidsartlosaltos.com. For more information on CCS, visit www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/ccs.
