New Edition of Nursing Textbook to Feature Client Artwork

Authored by: Community Support Services
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The cover of the 9th edition of Varcarolis’ Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: A Clinical Approach, 9e will feature “Butterfly Abstract” by Bradley Rankin. Rankin is a client in Community Support Services’ Expressive Art Therapy program.
                For the past 12 years, Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Halter, PhD, APRN, has served as the editor of the leading undergraduate nursing textbook, a 36-chapter, 700+ page book. Every four years, a new edition is produced to reflect changes in practice and pharmacotherapy. The 9th edition of the text, originally developed and revised by Elizabeth Varcarolis, is scheduled for publication in August 2021, with “Butterfly Abstract” as the cover. Rankin will be credited in the book with a biographical paragraph.
                While perusing the Community Support Services website, (www.cssbh.org), Halter was drawn to a composition she describes as, “a painting with clouds of vivid colors buoying up a team of ascending butterflies. The painting conveys a sense of optimism and hope, words that clearly apply to mental health, illness, and recovery.” She began researching how she could get the rights to use the artwork for her textbook.       
                “While my focus is primarily writing and editing, as a former graphic designer, the visual impression is important to me,” Halter said. “Along with my daughter, Elissa Folk, who is also a graphic designer, we thought how great it would be to support a local artist by using their artwork on the cover.”
Rankin says utilizing his artistic talents helps him improve his concentration, evidenced by the fact he’s held a full-time job for more than three years. For the 2020 Art of Recovery, he created “Butterfly Abstract,” a bright, colorful piece. “The abstract background with the more realistic butterflies depicts the confusion that sometimes overpowers our environment,” he said. Rankin has entered pieces in CSS’s annual Art of Recovery event – which highlights client artwork - for the past four years, and his painting “Abstract Flowers” was named Best in Show at the 2019 event.
               The 2020 Art of Recovery event, rescheduled from March 12, will include a virtual auction of clients’ artwork from August 2 through August 6 (www.one.bidpal.net/artofrecovery), and a live virtual event from 6 to 7 pm on August 6 on the agency’s website and on Facebook Live. The auction will include more than 50 pieces – however “Butterfly Abstract” won’t be one of the pieces available. In addition to securing the rights for her textbook, Halter purchased the piece to hang in her home.