“We’ve incorporated a lot of different kinds of art into the hospital over the years, from our first piece – a player piano for our lobby – to paintings and drawings and sculptures of all descriptions,” Suhre said. “Robert’s incredible, vibrant pieces really add something special. The whole goal of the Healing Arts Initiative is to harness the power of art and give people a respite from real-world issues, even if for a moment. Robert’s sculptures certainly do that, and I have a feeling they’re going to make a splash with our patients.”
Eventually, Suhre said, the plan is to have the fish migrate down Highway 21 to a permanent home in a new facility currently being designed for St. Tammany Pediatrics, the health system’s primary care kid clinic that was displaced by 2021’s Hurricane Ida.
That was the original vision of the project when it was first spawned nearly two years ago when, while dining at a local restaurant, Healing Arts Committee member Norma Richard spotted one of Post’s pieces hanging on the wall. It gave her an idea.
With a little shoe-leather detective work, she discovered who the artist was, tracked him down and pitched him on her big idea: to create a school of various undersea creatures – an octopus, a seahorse, a baby shark (doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo) and others – and invite hospital donors to sponsor them.
He was more than willing to take part. So were donors. What started as a group of seven creatures quickly turned to nine, all quickly sponsored by community donors.
“I’ve made hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. I can’t even count how many sketchbooks we have of drawings,” Post said of his fantastical fishy designs, many of which have been turned into small painting kits marketed for children under the brand name “Reefies.”
“A lot of the sculptures we have here on display never existed before except as drawings,” he said. “This is their first time coming to life as three-dimensional sculptures. That’s exciting to me.”
The process to create each of Post’s creatures is a laborious one, starting with a chicken-wire armature that is then covered with paper, then lots of tape, which is then sanded down to get just the right shape.
“Everything I sculpt, I try to have a lots of soft edges,” he said. “Nothing sharp. Even with the shark, I tried not to put sharp teeth in him. Everything’s soft and happy.”
If those “happy” fish make patients similarly happy, well, then, Post figures he’s done his job.
“There’s enough negative in the world,” Post said. “Hopefully, if we can bring some positive and bring some smiles to some folks – that’s what this is all about. It really is.”