Nature's Trail a welcome sight for chemotherapy patients

Princess Margaret Hospital's Chemotherapy Daycare Unit has been turned into a canvas by artist Dr. Annie Smith. Annie, a former coordinator and professor in the Art and Art History Program at Sheridan College/University of Toronto, is also a chemotherapy patient. She wanted to bring some joy to the unit, which serves 80-100 patients per day.

Others saw a blank ceiling, but Dr. Annie Smith saw a canvas. "I got so bored staring at ceilings. I longed to bring them to life, colour them, write on them, paint images from art history on them,” said Annie.

Using at-cost supplies funded by a generous donation, she created a 400-foot long decorative mural with the help of forty-four second-year art and art history students. The students painted panels, using the mural's title, “Nature's Trail, the Flora and Fauna of Ontario,” as their inspiration.