Skagit Regional Health is dedicated to ensuring delivery of a care environment where individuals have an opportunity to achieve their full potential. This includes creating a relaxing and calming atmosphere for our patients. We are intentional in the décor, furniture and colors chosen and displayed in all of our spaces. On display is thoughtful artwork from local artists, either commissioned by or donated to the Skagit Regional Health Foundation, to help create a healing environment.

If you have ever visited the rooftop garden at Cascade Valley Hospital, you probably experienced the serenity the space provides. The breathtaking mountain views, beautiful planters filled with greenery, plenty of space to sit and take in the fresh air while listening to calming sounds of water drops. This sound comes from the steel sculpture settled in the middle of the garden.

Seattle-based artists Tom Mattausch and Garth Murray collaborated on this piece, named “American Suikinkutsu.” The sculpture was commissioned by hospital’s foundation in 2009. The meditative aspect of the Japanese tea ceremony called suikinkutsu, where water drops fall into water and produce a reverberating ringing bell noise, is what inspired American Suikinkutsu.

According to Mattausch’s website, the sculpture consists of a blown glass chamber that fills with water up to the middle of the clear window. Inside the steel hemispheres, there are hidden miniature “shishi odoshi” that fill with water and then audibly tip, sending plump drops of water to crash at the focal, eye-level water line. This results in reverberating ripples that complement the traditional bell-like ringing echo, serving as a very functional meditative accessory to the nearby Intensive Care Unit.

We invite you to visit the rooftop garden next time you are at Cascade Valley Hospital to sit and enjoy this calming suikinkutsu concept with an American interpretation.