Larned’s MaryAlice Skelton was blessed with a talent.
Skelton worked in Great Bend for 26 years as a registered nurse clinician with Dr. Merlin Kirby.
“I have a long history with art, but during my nursing years, I pretty much shelved it,” she said. “I made many great friends through that office — lasting friendships.”  
It took starting a simple wall painting in Larned to rediscover her artistic gift from God.
“After my retirement, I took up my brushes again, and have enjoyed every minute of it. I’m pretty much dedicated to mural work,” she said. “There is something about a wall, that I can step right up and start drawing on it.”
When Lily Akings, Barton County health department director, did a redesign on their green and lavender rooms in 2010, she immediately thought of Skelton. Akings wanted to try a version of the colorful light coverings she had seen at Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington.
“That gave us some ideas on how to create a brighter atmosphere in our rooms,” she said. “I’ve known Dr. Marlin Kirby and MaryAlice for a long time. We were fortunate when she got back into her art work.”
The colorful light coverings each incorporate an idea — and Skelton crafts a wall mural with acrylic paint that matches the light covering. Each wall mural required several days of work.
“Nothing makes me happier than when someone appreciates your work,” Skelton said. “The nurses absolutely love the seaside room.”
Skelton’s designs are breathtaking, patterned after a giraffe, fish, flowers and a hot air balloon.
“The patients and parents love it,” Akings said. “The rooms provide a much softer and pleasant atmosphere for seeing patients.”
Skelton often does a pencil sketch of her artwork to keep everything in the proper proportion. After researching each idea, she came up specific pieces of artwork that matched each light covering.
The giraffe offered a particular challenge since it goes from floor past the ceiling into the light fixture. She used a glass giraffe for her crafting.
She incorporated features from a Washington seaside for her fish wall mural, which features a fish from “Finding Nemo”.
“My sister and I spent a lot of time on the beach in Washington,” she said. “The kelp is from my childhood in the Puget Sound.”
She crafted a B-29 aircraft, built in Great Bend, into the flower wall mural. She carefully researched the hot air balloons, which she had seen in New Mexico.