The Roper St. Francis Women’s and Children’s Center was renovated in the Spring of 2022 through the support of generous donors to the Roper St. Francis Foundation. Heurista was asked to design and implement donor recognition for the project and the goal of designing a beautiful piece of artwork to complement the renovations to the space was determined early in the project along with the need for ongoing additions to the display as the Foundation receives additional gifts to the program over time.

Heurista saw the opportunity to engage a local artist for a commissioned piece to incorporate into the donor recognition display. Isabelle Coppinger of Belle Ceramics of Asheville, NC was brought in during the early design phases, given general direction to use a floral motif, and provided an overview of the project from the donor stewardship perspective. Isabelle was given license to design a piece that used her personal artistic style to engage the daily audience of patients and staff, the donors who pass by the display. Following the production of concept samples to describe the intent of the art piece, enthusiastic approval was granted and production began. Over 50 individual porcelain flower petals were created for individual placement on the wall to accompany our recognition elements.

Acrylic panels cover the ceramic flowers providing a protective cover onto which. Decals featuring donor names are applied. This method creates a beautiful overlap between the ceramics and the donor decals to create a display that plays with light, depth, and shadows. Donor decals are featured on the display in three sizes corresponding to the donors’ giving level and the Foundation is able to add decals as needed well into the future.