Blackville....perhaps a site for an installation!

I've said it before; I'll say it again...and again...and again; Serendipity plays a big part in my life and art. "One thing" often "leads to another". Hopefully, a recent chain of events will lead to an art exhibition and an installation!

I was dropping off a piece for a juried show at the Region Three Discovery Center. The route took me through an interesting little town...by the wonderful ruins of the Shamrock Hotel in Blackville, South Carolina. I was fascinated immediately. The Region Two center hosted Blues Chapel earlier this year. Now Region Three is interested in "something". Blues Chapel won't work in their facility. This is an opportunity to do something original, new....but....the space in the Center wasn't "calling to me". The Shamrock Hotel was calling...loud and clear!

It turns out the the Region Two manager's mother used to live in the Shamrock Hotel...back in its glory days of railroads, traveling salesmen, and a booming agrarian economy. We've exchanged a few emails and I've even received a letter from her mother....dripping with nostalgia, phrases of yesteryear, stories of ghosts and Southern cooking mixed with rich, interior descriptions. I'm excited.

I also had a chance to drive back to photograph the place. Who wouldn't fall in love with the textures of peeling paint; the colors of worn brick and lush, creeping ivy; and enough architecture standing to envision an installation. I see a tornado of wire coat hangers flying from a pile of used suitcases....symbols of past overnights, the essence of a hotel stay.

I'm envisioning two dimensional work too....framed textiles hanging from wire coat hangers. Each piece would incorporate stitching, images, and ideas of the people who used the hotel. The Discovery Center would host the exhibition; the Shamrock would become the installation.

Now....all I've got to do is figure out how to make this vision a reality. I'm already at work on sketches, a statement, a requirement list (machines, permits, etc.), a budget, etc. I've already got the email address for the Blackville Historic Association that owns the structure. Even though I'm about to go to Maine, I'm working on a proposal.

I worried about posting these pictures and ideas....because, of course, this project might never happen. There's all sorts of logistic and financial problems involved....plus, the owners haven't really been informed! Yet, blogging is for sharing....successes and failures. One way or the other, I wanted to share what feels like a great idea with some real potential!