A lifelong passion for art and a bent toward cheerful fantasy have worked wonders in the outpatient clinic at the Northern California Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento. There, a colorful mural tickles the imaginations of children of all ages. Ladybugs parade up the tree of life. Bulls walk out of mushrooms. A giraffe pokes his head out of a garden.
Birds perch high and low.
Bursting with color and bustling with activity, the creation is the work of Paul Raskin, D.D.S., a dentist by profession and an artist by inspiration. Beginning in the fall of 1998, the Sacramento dentist devoted a year of Monday evenings to the fanciful design. Guided by his imagination and a keen sense of composition, on each visit Raskin enhanced his creation. Keeping a pulse on the project was Lillie Murphy, clinic coordinator, who is the keeper of appointments and interacts with all clinic visitors. The little kids are so curious they put their hands on it so they can feel it.