03/05/2026
Thank you Michael Fish for your amazing skills. What a terrific addition to our facility.
Also, thank to the members of the LCMC Auxiliary, The Community Foundation of Lincoln County, and the employees of LCMC for your donations to make this art a reality.
UP
I don’t usually name my murals, other than the name of the town or entity it’s painted for.
Typically its Ruidoso mural, Patina Lounge mural, etc.
This mural was more important to me than most. This place is a place of all the emotions and
circumstances life offers. I watched men and women being wheeled out, healed, fixed, better,
going home. I watched people coming in, hurt, sick, in need. I also watched men and women
coming in or leaving, a new life fixing to begin or having just begun. Every time I saw them I
remembered my son being born. A flood of emotion that 23 years later feels like yesterday. I
thought how we typically respect but don’t want to think about ‘hospital’ as a positive or good
thing. You want to avoid going to this place, you don’t talk about it. I realized that’s wrong. It
should be revered. Loved. Appreciated. Nobody wants to be sick, or hurt or in need of
treatment. But if you are, this is the place you want to be. It is your lifeline, your fix, your safe
place. The people who choose to go into medicine, choose to help people. Choose to do
important work while being held to the highest scrutiny. Im thankful for them and have a new
appreciation and outlook on Hospitals.
The name is layered. Look up. Get up. Rise up. Never give up. The coyote howls flowers, UP….
My father-in-law passed away just before I began this mural. The art was imagined long ago
but the meaning took on a whole new life. Clint Harden had a brand. Yes, you guessed it. His
brand is UP. When I think of him I look UP, always did and still do.
So the name was easy and always on my mind along with the importance and the beauty
behind and in this mural. Thank you everyone involved in making this mural possible. I am very
proud of this mural and truly love it.
UP….
Thank you to the contributors who made this mural possible LCMC ancillary, LCCHC, LCMC employee funds group, Todd Oberhu and Keri Rath. This mural all started with me bugging Dr. Rath about how one gets a mural at a hospital.