Seton chooses artist for chapel

Monday, 05 December 2011 by Thomas Tavaziva

David Salzman, a resident of Temple, has been nominated as the designated artist for the Seton Medical Center chapel. After holding several auditions, Seton Medical Center Harker Heights has selected a Central Texas-based stained glass artist for the hospital's chapel.

David Salzman, a resident of Temple has been nominated as the designated artist for the chapel.

"We felt that he would be a great choice because of his very high technical quality and range of styles," said Kathy Hathorn, of American Art Resources. "He has been delightful to work with, listening to our needs and responding accordingly. I'm sure he will create a significant and inspiring work of art that will bring comfort and peace to those who find sanctuary in the chapel."

American Art Resources Chief Executive Officer and founder Hathorn has more than 25 years of experience working exclusively with the healthcare industry on creating healthcare art programs using evidence based principles.

Salzman graduated from Baylor University in 1975 with a degree in church history. It was during his time at Baylor that he was exposed to working with stained glass. He was taught the craft by an accomplished stained glass artist in Waco, and his passion for the art continued to grow and he has since been thriving in the industry for more than 30 years.

In recent years he expanded his knowledge of glass by learning the technique of glass blowing while assisting Bob Rynearson at Ryno Glass.

Salzman Glass Arts, his family owned company, is unlike other glass distributors as they individually custom design, and fabricate each stained glass window commissioned.

The medical center had been working in conjunction with American Art Resources to find artwork that would be installed for permanent display.

The selection process began on Oct. 17 and the other artists chosen for the project will be announced at a later date.

Seton Medical Center's Director of Marketing Melissa Purl highlighted the importance of the community's participation in this endeavor.

"Local art is very important as we are a community hospital," Purl said. "There have been studies done that prove that art promotes the healing process, as long as it is appropriate to the area."

According to Purl, the chapel will be an integral part of SMCHH, which is a Catholic hospital affiliated with the Seton family of hospitals in Austin and Central Texas.

The 192,400 square-foot hospital is expected to open toward the end of next summer.