Waco Family Medicine | Waco, Texas | 2026
Portals of Wonder is a site-specific digital art proposal created for the pharmacy at Waco Family Medicine. The installation transforms seven pharmacy service windows into individual portals to a vibrant natural world. Each window features distinct imagery while contributing to one cohesive environment of gardens, wildlife, water, and light. The work was designed to create a sense of wonder and positive distraction within a healthcare setting, offering patients, families, and staff an opportunity for curiosity, reflection, and joy.
The composition is intentionally layered with details that reveal themselves over time—birds, butterflies, fish, flowers, reflections, and other visual “Easter eggs.” A waterline aligned with the pharmacy counter creates an unexpected transition: as visitors approach, an underwater world emerges beneath the surface, connecting the imagery above and below. This approach was designed particularly for a space with repeat visitors, allowing the artwork to become a familiar experience while continuing to offer new discoveries.
All imagery was created from my personal photographic archive, built over decades of photographing nature and wildlife. Combining original photography, digital drawing, and layered composition, the work reflects my ongoing interest in creating immersive environments that encourage viewers to look longer and see differently.
Designing for Discovery in Everyday Places
What if a visit to the pharmacy could become something more?
Not simply a transaction, but a moment of curiosity. A pause. A small sense of wonder.
That question became the starting point for Portals of Wonder, a site-specific proposal I recently developed for Waco Family Medicine’s new pharmacy.
The project challenged artists to imagine artwork that would transform a healthcare space into one that felt welcoming, hopeful, and restorative. Rather than creating imagery about healthcare, I wanted to create an experience that celebrated life.
Looking Beyond the Wall
One of the things I love most about public art is that it asks different questions than gallery work.
Instead of asking, What do I want to say?, it asks:
How do people move through this space?
How will they experience the work?
Will they see it once—or dozens of times over the years?
That shift completely changes how I think about making images.
For this project, the pharmacy wasn’t just a wall. It became seven windows.
Seven opportunities to invite someone into another world.
Designing for Repeat Visitors
Unlike artwork in a museum, this piece wasn’t intended to reveal itself all at once.
Many patients visit a pharmacy regularly. I wanted the artwork to reward those return visits.
Each of the seven pharmacy windows features a different focal point—a flamingo, a turtle, butterflies, birds, flowers, fish—creating distinct destinations within one larger ecosystem.
My hope was that people would begin to think of them almost like landmarks.
“I like the butterfly window.”
“The turtle is my favorite.”
“Let’s go to the flamingo side.”
Over time, those visual connections become part of the experience of visiting the space.
The Joy of Discovery
One of the defining characteristics of my work is layering.
Every composition contains dozens—even hundreds—of individual photographs that gradually reveal themselves over time.
Some details are immediately visible.
Others take weeks, months, or years to notice.
Birds hidden among leaves.
Butterflies drifting between flowers.
Fish beneath the water.
Reflections and patterns that quietly connect one panel to another.
I think of these as visual rewards.
They’re not meant to distract. They’re invitations to keep looking.
A Hidden World Below
One of my favorite design decisions was something visitors wouldn’t notice right away.
The waterline was intentionally aligned with the pharmacy counter.
From across the room, viewers would encounter gardens, birds, flowers, and open sky.
But as they approached the counter, an entirely new world would emerge beneath the surface.
Fish.
Aquatic plants.
Reflections.
A sea turtle gliding through the water.
It was designed as a quiet surprise—an experience that unfolds through movement rather than technology.
Building an Image Library
Every photograph in Portals of Wonder came from my own archive.
I don’t use stock photography.
For more than twenty years I’ve photographed wildlife, rivers, gardens, botanical collections, aquariums, birds, butterflies, flowers, and landscapes—not knowing exactly where those images might eventually find a home.
This project allowed decades of image-making to come together in one place.
The sea turtle was photographed years ago.
The flamingos during another visit.
Butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, fish… each image carries its own story before becoming part of a much larger one.
That slow accumulation of photographs is one of the foundations of my practice.
Light as a Material
Although the proposal was designed as a printed architectural installation, I couldn’t help imagining how light might become part of the experience.
Many of the photographs incorporate light painting, reflections, glowing water, and luminous color.
Illumination—whether through carefully integrated lighting or future light box installations—could add another layer of immersion and reinforce the feeling that each window is, quite literally, a portal.
It’s an idea I’d love to continue exploring.
More Than a Proposal
While this particular project wasn’t selected, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to develop and present it.
The process reminded me why I love creating public art.
It isn’t simply about making beautiful images.
It’s about imagining how art can change the way we experience everyday places.
A hallway.
An airport.
A waiting room.
A pharmacy.
Sometimes all it takes is a moment of discovery to transform an ordinary space into something memorable.
That possibility continues to inspire me.
Looking Ahead
Portals of Wonder may have been designed for one specific wall, but the idea extends far beyond a single project.
I’m excited to continue exploring immersive, site-responsive artwork for healthcare environments, public buildings, airports, libraries, and other spaces where people gather, wait, reflect, and connect.
Because even the most ordinary places have the potential to become extraordinary.
