When it opens in January 2025, the new, $75 million St. Tammany Health System Surgery Center on Bootlegger Road will be among the most technologically advanced surgery centers in the region and the Gulf South.
It is state of the art, no question, and thanks to St. Tammany Hospital Foundation’s Healing Arts Initiative, it boasts its share of good old-fashioned visual art, too. That includes the single largest piece in the foundation’s collection, a mural by Abita Springs artist Zac Maras measuring 18 feet by 20 feet that adds a can’t-miss-it splash of Louisiana flavor to the new facility’s atrium lobby. Depicting a swamp scene, Maras’ mural is dominated by a detailed pelican in flight. Filling out the frame are intricately depicted Louisiana irises and a trio of vibrantly colored butterflies.
For Maras, whose work can be found throughout the metro area, and particularly on the Southshore, getting a commission from a medical facility was a first for him. Working from an elevated boom lift, Maras started by projecting a rough version of his composition onto the lobby wall that would serve as his canvas and sketching it in. From there, he used cans of professional-grade spray paint to bring the scene to life, utilizing a color palette chosen to harmonize with those colors already used in the building.
It was slow, deliberate work. Starting on a Sunday and finishing on the following Thursday, Maras estimated the entire project took about 40 hours, start to finish.
Upon seeing the finished product, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre said every minute Maras invested in his mural was well worth the time.
