Award-winning photographer Julia Kelleher, of Bend, is donating $60,000 worth of fine art photography to the St. Charles Family Birthing Centers in Bend and Redmond “to inspire new mothers during their birth experience," according to a release from Kelleher announcing the donation.
The initial installation includes 60 to 70 large-scale, hand-wrapped, giclee canvases featuring more than 30 Central Oregon families. The images of babies 3 to 21 days old who were born either at St. Charles Bend or St. Charles Redmond will hang in birthing center hallways and all 24 birthing rooms.
Kelleher was chosen by St. Charles as the exclusive artist for its birthing centers. The five-year project will grow over time using images of local families.
“You can’t help but feel inspired by human nature when you meet these families and their new babies," Kelleher said in the release. “Newborns are the epitome of purity and innocence. I hope these images give parents hope for their children and provide a sense of comfort to laboring mothers — that what they are doing is miraculous."
The images will be installed in Bend this weekend; Kelleher will reveal the images at an open house from 5-8 tonight at her Old Mill Marketplace studio, 550 S.W. Industrial Way, #175, Bend.
Contact: www.jewel-images.com or 541-306-3942.
