SANSUM CLINIC BLOG

Bobbie Rosenblatt’s love for art began long before she was leading Sansum Clinic’s Art Committee, and before she became a collector herself.

When she and her husband Eddie were raising their family and Bobbie was working as an educational therapist, they enjoyed taking their children to art museums to cultivate their cultural appreciation. Photography was her hobby and she favored a then novel-style where the images are transferred to canvas, giving the appearance of an oil painting. Bobbie’s talent garnered enough recognition to be featured in two Los Angeles art shows.

WHEN she and her husband Eddie were raising their family and Bobbie was working as an educational therapist, they enjoyed taking their children to art museums to cultivate their cultural appreciation. Photography was her hobby and she favored a then novel-style where the images are transferred to canvas, giving the appearance of an oil painting. Bobbie’s talent garnered enough recognition to be featured in two Los Angeles art shows.

Exemplary care from the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and Sansum Clinic physicians and staff after her 2017 lung cancer diagnosis greatly motivated Bobbie to want to give back. She learned first-hand how a welcoming, positive environment in which to receive treatment is essential to excellent care. Management of her disease coincided with construction of the new 60,000 square foot Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. Bobbie joined forces with Sansum Clinic Philanthropy Director Dru Hartley and Trustee Vicki Hazard and together they reached out to the art community with a request for paintings, photography and sculptures. The goal was to create a soothing, museum-worthy collection sourced from some of the most talented artists in Santa Barbara County as well as art from private collectors. Integral players in this endeavor, renowned local artists Marcia Burtt and Arturo Tello, provided an entré to The Oak Group, a local cadre of artists passionate about painting on location and preserving open spaces. While some hospitals and medical centers purchase fine art for new facilities, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center relied solely on its community for support.

Not long after the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center project was completed, the idea for an official Sansum Clinic Art Committee was born and the committee added to its roster Trustee Val Montgomery and Karen Handy, MPH, Sansum Clinic VP of Operations. The group began a process to procure paintings created by local artists and private collectors, physicians, nurses, techs, staff members and patients taking art classes at Ridley-Tree, as well as photography from members of the Channel City Camera Club. Letitia Haynes serves as Curator and Facilities Coordinator Cathy Monclus are valuable additions to the Art Committee. Art installations were recently completed in the departments of Nuclear Medicine, Physical Therapy, Pueblo Lobby, Optometry, Gastroenterology, Radiology, Dermatology, Urology, Pulmonology, Doctors Weight Management and Pain Management. The task on the horizon is a new collection of art reflecting the Santa Ynez Valley culture and lifestyle when Sansum Clinic expands its services in Solvang.

French impressionist Edgar Degas said “Art is not what you see, it is what you make others see.” A comforting vision and solace through art is what Bobbie hopes patients receive in the places and spaces where they receive their medical care. Humble to a fault, Bobbie downplays her role as the conduit between the art community and the incredible art collection that lives at the Clinic, but none of the Art Committee’s achievements could have been possible without her direction and dedication. With four children, six grandchildren and her husband of 67 years, Bobbie’s spare time could easily be just family-focused, yet her art projects bring her so much joy.

Photo Caption: Bill Hallier, North of Rincon