Burlington artist/photographer Cheryl Coleman with one of her 12 photos that hang in hallways at Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington. Many of the scenes are familiar to local residents. (Photo by Ed Nadolski)

Volunteers donate 12 pictures by local photographer

Visitors walking from the main lobby at Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington toward the cafeteria just may get the feeling they are in a Southeastern Wisconsin photo gallery thanks to a recent donation by the hospital’s volunteer organization.

Twelve photographs of area lakes, woods and landscapes ­– many of them in Burlington itself – line the walls. The photos are the work of Cheryl Coleman, a Burlington artist/photographer.

“They have brightened up the hospital tremendously,” said Mary Chris Lynch, the volunteer services manager for the hospital. “Because they’re local, they mean so much more to people.”

The display is the latest in a long line of donations made to the hospital by its volunteers since the early 1960s.

In addition to the photographs, the volunteers have donated stained glass windows outside the ICU waiting room – created by volunteer Andy Corrao – a dishwasher for foodservice to guarantee the sterility of all utensils and dishes in the cafeteria, oversized wheelchairs, an EKG machine and digital mammogram equipment.

Lynch said the suggestion to brighten up the hallway with art came from the hospital administration. The board of volunteers then proposed using art depicting local scenes. From there several ideas were presented for consideration.  After investigating the options, which also included paintings, the volunteers selected Colman’s photographs.

Choosing from hundreds of pictures, Lynch and a decorator working with the hospital narrowed the number to 70. Ultimately the volunteer board narrowed the total to the 12 now on display. In addition to purchasing the photos from Coleman, the volunteers paid for the matting and framing.

The photographs are hung in the hall that leads to the cafeteria just past the Serendipity Gift Shop. The display continues after the steps in the hall to the cafeteria. On most of the framed photos is the location where it was taken as well as Coleman’s signature.

Coleman said the selection of her photographs for the display was both ironic and rewarding.

Ironic, because she has been a volunteer with the hospital’s No One Dies Alone program. She said most of the people at the hospital knew her as a volunteer rather than an artist.

“And it helped me out because I’m a single mom,” she added.

Although she grew up in Burlington, Coleman moved with her family out of the area when she was in her early teens and returned to Burlington about two years ago. Over 20 years ago, as a creator of jewelry, hand-painted clothing and wildlife paintings, she began taking pictures to capture images for her artwork.

“This led to a newfound love of photography for its own sake, and I found myself taking many photos of scenes and subjects that I simply wanted to capture and preserve,” Coleman said.

“I have had the privilege of using my art and photos in several gallery exhibits and presentations demonstrating the therapeutic effects of artistic expression for abuse victims.”

Coleman said her growth as a photographer helped her realize the power of nature’s beauty.

“As my passion for photography started to grow, I became aware of a great love I have in capturing photos of God’s awesome glory. I believe He displays glimpses of it in His creation all around us. Something I say often is that ‘He paints a picture every millisecond in the sky and I’ve been blessed to capture some on film.’”

Gift card replicas of the photos are available in the hospital gift shop.