One man's passion, one hospital's gain
Local artist Gerald Hollenbeck demonstrates his process while drawing a picture of the old Providence Hospital in Wallace. The drawing is one of seven charcoal drawings that Hollenbeck is doing for the Shoshone Medical Center Foundation’s Summer Wine fundraiser. Each drawing will be auctioned off and displayed inside Shoshone Medical Center. Photo by JOSH MCDONALD
Photos by JOSH MCDONALD These photos are of Wallace Hospitals as they were upgraded and remodeled throughout the years.
The Silver Valley has long been home to many hidden treasures — not all of them being the precious metals we are so widely known for.
Some of these treasures include certain people with unique skills that live in this special piece of North Idaho.
Artist Gerald Hollenbeck is one of those people.
Hollenbeck, 79, has been bestowing his artistic gift upon the folks of Shoshone County (and beyond) for 70 years, but is currently working on some of his most important (and what may end up being his most widely seen) work.
The local artist was recently commissioned by the Shoshone Medical Center Foundation (or, the foundation) to complete a series of charcoal drawings depicting some of the area’s most iconic hospitals from over the years. These works will then be auctioned off during the foundation’s Summer Wine fundraiser event on July 19.
The challenge of constructing accurate drawings of these historic edifices was one that Hollenbeck embraced for a multitude of reasons. What it really boiled down to though was his love of art; a love that was cultivated as a young child.
“It started when we kids had a baby sitter, and I can’t remember her name, but she was an artist,” Hollenbeck said. “I saw her drawing eyes, noses and mouths and that got my attention. From there it was Mrs. Morgan, the art teacher at Silver King School and she really got me going.”
From that point on, Hollenbeck went about perfecting his craft in multiple mediums, from pen and ink to various paints and pastels, but his favorite has always been charcoal.
“I like the charcoal,” he said with a grin. “I like to see the picture develop and it’s fast. The rest take a little bit longer.”
Hollenbeck was approached by his stepdaughter Michelle Wood, who works for the foundation, and she had thought that hanging drawings of the hospitals inside Shoshone Medical Center would be an artistic alternative to just hanging old photographs.
With this idea in mind, Hollenbeck set out to work.
Hollenbeck uses only a picture as a reference when he creates works of art like this, but the most difficult part is getting the scaling of the building just right.
“It all depends on what size they want the drawings,” Hollenbeck said. “They may give me a 3-by-5 photo and want a large drawing of it. Getting the scaling and proportion of it just right is the most difficult and time consuming part of drawings like these.”
There will be seven drawings in total that will be auctioned off during the foundation’s Summer Wine event.
The auction itself will be a unique experience for both SMC and whomever purchases Hollenbeck’s drawings.
Part of the experience of winning one of the pieces at auction is that the original drawing will be hung inside Shoshone Medical Center with the winner’s name on a plaque under it.
The winner won’t go home empty-handed though, as they will receive a print of the drawing. There will only be two prints of each drawing made, one for the winner and one for Hollenbeck to keep for himself.
The Shoshone Medical Center Foundation’s Summer Wine fundraiser and auction will be on July 19, at the SMC Outreach Center in Pinehurst.
Tickets are available, but seating is limited.
To inquire about tickets, please contact Sarah Harris-Murphy at smurphy@shomed.org or call 509-768-1670.