Artist bringing hope to hospital

By Jean Reid Norman

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

Tough times call for beautiful art, Debbie Marie Arambula says.

That's not a surprising viewpoint from an artist, perhaps, but it comes at an appropriate time for Boulder City Hospital, which has had a difficult year. Arambula will be the featured artist for the annual Art in the Park Oct. 3 and 4, the primary fundraiser for the nonprofit hospital.

She will be displaying her original triptych, "Peaces of a Dream" as the featured work during the two-day event. The painting uses hearts made from old palettes to create patterns that, when the three canvases are shown together, form a peace sign.

"What I hope it brings to Boulder City Hospital is a message of hope," Arambula said. "I hope that's how it breaks down to this hard-working hospital staff, which is trying to do something important together."

The recession has been particularly hard on the hospital, Chief Executive Officer Tom Maher said.

Despite the fact that the hospital has cut its expenses by $1.5 million so far this year, it is still $900,000 in the red.

"It's been a very tough year for us," Maher said. "We have cut costs dramatically, to the bone."

Beyond cutting expenses wherever they can be trimmed, hospital officials have been following recommendations of a recent audit to find ways to charge for services that insurance companies now allow.

The hospital also is continuing its long-term fundraising efforts, developing relationships with donors and potential donors to make giving to the hospital more than a once-a-year event, development director Craig Bailey said.

The hospital began an annual campaign last spring with an event that celebrated the original giving that saved the hospital from closure in 1954.

Now the plan is to build on "Art Eve," an event done last year on the Friday night before Art in the Park where patrons could meet the artists and donated pieces were auctioned.

Instead of working all of that into one weekend, Bailey said, the hospital foundation plans to make Art Eve the theme of its annual spring event, relying on Art in the Park for donations of artwork and hoping that patrons will open their wallets twice a year for art to benefit the hospital.

The focus this week, however, is in running another successful Art in the Park, which has become a Boulder City institution, Bailey said.

There will be fewer artists this year, he said: 295 down from 380 the year before. It's been a hard year for artists, too, and many cannot afford the expense of coming, he said.

"One thing we have not done is let the integrity of the show go," Bailey said. "That is part of the longer-term plan to elevate the status of the show."

Event manager Wendy Kyser said Arambula's bright work brings the right message, given the tough economic times — especially the centerpiece, "Peaces of a Dream."

"The piece represents to me what the feel is for this year," she said.

"We are all grasping for hope. That symbolized what we're all reaching for now."