GVSU professor and students alleviate pediatric patient fear through art

Yu assembles an interdisciplinary team at GVSU

Yu asked Cynthia Tripp, a local artist with whom he had collaborated on prior projects, to collaborate on a design plan for the murals and art structures. However, Tripp was not available for the whole process, and Yu needed more help.

While doing landscaping work, he ran into the mother of Lara Hinze, one of his former students. Hinze, an art education student, took Yu's trigonometry course when she was at Grand Valley. As Yu spoke with Hinze's mother, he learned that Hinze was entering student teaching for her final year at GVSU, but that she was looking for a summer job involving art.

"I said, 'See if she is interested, and I will hire her right now,'" Yu said. "It was this really wonderful, serendipitous moment that Lara and I could reconnect in a different context."

Hinze's painting skills were exactly what Yu needed. Hinze stepped in and painted the trees and other flowers on the walls, as well as helping to put fine detail on the windmill replica.

Hinze, who is currently student teaching at Wyoming High School, said she jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Yu, and that she plans on applying what she learned to the classrooms she teaches in.

"Having the real-world application of how to collaborate with other artists is a key element we teach students. Having this opportunity helps me put into perspective how the actual process goes," she said.

Alongside Hinze, Yu also called upon Rylan Bernhardt, a graduate student studying electrical and computer engineering and a visiting faculty member at Grand Valley. With Bernhardt's expertise, the team was able to achieve the detail, precision and efficiency they wanted.

Bernhardt created programs and designs for 3D printing, laser cutting and computer numerical control work. Through these technologies, Bernhardt provided Yu with precision-cut panes for windows, to the fraction of an inch shapes and frames, as well as detailed cutting of wood panels to create a brick-like appearance.

"Seeing something so tangible, I see products come to life, but I never see them get utilized in an art aspect. It was really cool to see it all come together," Bernhardt said.