Community Artists Contribute to Culture and Healing through Art at La Maestra

Rising Star, the first art piece in La Maestra's art collection, was installed in July in the City Heights health center lobby by artist Terry Hansen, a talented San Diego resident and La Maestra patient renowned for his woodworking ability. The star is made of repurposed wood from around the globe including osage orange, padouk, purpleheart, maple, peruvian walnut and wenge woods. Rays of bocote and cocobolo wood were steam bent to fit the curve of the wall.

 For 43 years, Terry has been transforming exotic woods into intricate abstract and geometric wood inlays. He believes that art is an expression of a person's spiritual being, and that art allows an empathetic connection between the artist and the viewer - a connection that is "one of the best hopes we have for improving culture and healing wounded hearts."  

 Terry has completed over 41,000 pieces and has work featured in the Smithsonian Institute of Art in Washington, DC and many museums and galleries.   

La Maestra has also been selected by the San Diego Public Arts Commission to house a unique and innovative installation by local community artist Lynn Susholtz. Lynn's project "Grandmother's Kitchen/Grandfather's Garden" is a culinary visual history of the City Heights community, presented through the shared experiences and culturally specific stories of food. It also reminds us to live more sustainably by eating locally grown foods. The project is being funded with $25,000 donated by the late artist Niki de Saint Phalle and administered by the Public Arts Commission.  

The digital sculptural installation is a three- by four-foot wall sculpture containing two layers of acrylic, printed and etched with images, recipes and maps, that house three video monitors mounted behind the acrylic, embedded in the layers of images. Lynn is in the process of collecting recipes, stories, images and video of community members growing, preparing and sharing food. Please let us know if you would like to participate.   

Learn more about our showcase green healthcare building and check back for a page with the history of the green building project and information about our Preferred Green Vendors and generous donors!