SASKATOON -- As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout ramps up in Saskatchewan, it’s giving a Saskatoon ICU nurse more materials to work with for his pandemic-inspired art.
Shawn Toovey and his co-workers at St. Paul’s Hospital have been collecting clean vaccine vial caps, unused pieces of ventilators and syringes as well as medicine bottle caps to recycle and repurpose into his artwork.
“These are all pieces that I collected at work taking care of people during this COVID pandemic and all the pieces represent us helping them in their time of need, it represents our struggle,” he said.
“Lots of memories. Lots of sad stories, lots of happy stories all involved in this piece of artwork.”
Toovey, who has always loved to express himself through art, tries to incorporate two Pfizer vaccine vial caps in each piece of his artwork.
“Recycling, composting, all that type of stuff really resonates with me. This is kind of perfect for me to repurpose all of this plastic stuff we just would toss away anyways and make it into something that people would cherish and actually put on their wall,” he said.
Toovey said he even saves bottle caps and coffee lids from healthcare workers while on their breaks.
His latest piece features some of these items constructed into a red heart on a white background.
“It’s our story, it’s the patient’s story. This is us, this is our collective efforts at work and in life and in art... it speaks of courage, speaks of hope.”
The piece is now helping to raise money for the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Anyone who donates $20 will be entered into a draw to win it.
The cause is close to Toovey who says he has struggled with mental health, as have his colleagues working on the frontlines.
“Every day we come in and we’re faced with this invisible enemy that we don’t know when it’s gonna pop up. So we treat everybody like they’re COVID positive until it’s proven that they’re negative and so, there’s a lot of stress every day, a lot of mental health strain,” he said.
“It affects me, it affects my family, it affects everybody just across the board.”
David Nelson, senior consultant with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Saskatchewan, said the organization appreciates the support, especially since the demand for mental health services has increased during the pandemic.
“We’ve been awfully busy like most people in the mental health area these days. After a year of COVID, people start to get a little bit anxious, they start to get a little bit depressed. There’s all kinds of issues much more serious than that that people have.”
Nelson added that the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown where weak areas exist within the mental health services sector.
“Unfortunately, access to mental health services whether in a city or especially if you’re in a rural, remote area is very, very difficult to get at the best of times,” he said.
Toovey said his hope is that his artwork brings people together and helps them reflect on the last year.
“Saskatchewan, as people, we’ve always come together in hard times and we just pull together so there’s a big community of hope and that’s what the heart stands for.”
