Successful Construction Project and Two Hand-stitched In Boxes

(Above:  Me with the first two In Box Series pieces finished here at the Cateechee Mouse House!  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I finished the hand-stitching on both these pieces long before we moved on March 4th.  Both were stitched while I was riding in the cargo van ... going back and forth from Columbia to Cateechee ... but I never took my heat gun to them, never got them off the stretcher bar, mounted, framed, and photographed until yesterday.  Steve and I have been rather busy ... unpacking, working around the ever-so-neglectful contractor's unfinished work, cleaning, setting up my studio, figuring out how the space would function, and also tackling a construction project of our own.  (Additional information and detailed photos of these two pieces is further below!  Please keep reading and scrolling down!)

(Above:  Panorama of the chancel railing after Steve and I built the lower part.  Please note, this is a panorama ... which on an iPhone, curves the field of vision!  There is no curve as seen in the images below!)

Originally, this sanctuary had a stage.  From the beginning of this adventure, we knew something had to be done with this stage.  Why?  Well, the church hadn't seen a service since around 2018, and even for several years before that, it had only been used on Sundays.  The roof leaked onto the stage.  Feral cats entered the space through a broken crawl space vent. (Now closed!)  They left fleas in the dingy carpeting that covered the stage.  That carpet was probably installed when the stage was enlarged (though no one seems to know when that happened.)  From the start of our adventure, the architect's plan included the demolition of the stage.  The ever-so-neglectful contractor seemed to be ignoring this task ... until I decided to rip out the flea-infected carpet.

  

(Above:  The stage on the day I started ripping out the carpeting.) 

Ripping out the carpet made it obvious that the stage was once smaller.  The entire front curve was plywood.  Behind it was the same wood as the rest of the sanctuary.  The roof leak damaged the "good wood".  At this point, the contractor reluctantly agreed to the demolition.

 

 (Above:  After the demolition.)

Steve and I were glad that this stage was gone ... along with the fleas and the rotting wood.  A fiber arts studio really doesn't need a stage!  Yet, this area now presented other needs ... like a floor and a wall under the chancel railing!  After moving in, we contracted with a flooring company for copper colored, penny-shaped tiles.

  

(Above:  After Steve and I built the wall under the chancel railing and side pillars.)

After the tiling was finished, Steve and I tackled the wall under the chancel railing and pillars.  It turned out very, very well considering we were only using a jigsaw and a miter saw!  Slowly but surely, we measured, cut angles, and used our new nail gun.  We added the trim between the existing chancel railing and the new wooden panels and then added a baseboard.  Later, we added quarter round.

 

(Above:  Steve painting our construction project.)

Yesterday, Steve finished painting ... and it looks as if this was the way the sanctuary was built!  We are so pleased.

 

(Above:  In Box CDXLIII.  Framed:  19" x 15".  Embroidery floss on layers of polyester stretch velvet on black, recycled synesthetic felt with unique melting techniques. $375.)

I am really pleased to have finished these two, hand-stitched In Box pieces.  Mounting and framing them was like an exercise in "learning how to use the studio".  Steve and I asked one another questions like, "Where's the glass cutter?" and "Is the air compressor charged?", etc.  Now, we feel like we can function in this new space!  I still haven't solved the issue of "where to snap photos with even lighting" but that will come! 

 

(Above:  In Box CDXLIV. Framed:  19" x 15".  Embroidery floss on layers of polyester stretch velvet on black, recycled synesthetic felt with unique melting techniques. $375.) 

There is a difference between these two in the "fringe".  In one, I removed all the excess bits of melted felt.  In the other, I didn't.  I'm not sure which I like more.  If you've read this far, please leave a comment with your opinion!  Thanks!

Unpacked, new lights, and Artista Vista

(Above:  Mandala CLXXIX.  Custom framed: 25" x 25".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Objects include:  The front of an egg timer; clock dial; white plastic rings; blue landline telephone connectors; antique eyeglasses; blue plastic dairy lids; prisms; vintage brass belt buckles; bread closure tabs; insulin lancets; gold, plastic lids; casino chips; beer bottle lids; sewing needle cases; vintage milk and yogurt cardboard lids; brass hinges; Shiner pins; beads and assorted buttons.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Here's a promise!  From here on out, I WILL BLOG MORE REGULARLY.  I can say this with a high level of assurance because I have finally unpacked the very last box and finished the first Found Object Mandala ... and that's "finished stitching, mounting, framing, photographing, and entering it into my inventory book.  I am so happy!  The life I envisioned over the last ten months is finally my reality!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CLXXIX.)

This Found Object Mandala was an important part of the incentive to set up my studio in the sanctuary.  Why?  Well ... it's a commission!  The beautiful blue-and-white quilt was sent to me by a friend who splits her time between Minneapolis and Phoenix.  It was the quilt under which she slept in her childhood.  Its condition made it obvious that it was well loved ... as in very threadbare, extremely fragile, and no longer a functional blanket ... but something that she just couldn't part with.  It made every move in her adulthood, looking for its "second life".  I am so pleased to be providing it!  Along with the quilt, my friend sent the antique eyeglasses, several of the silver and brass buttons, and Shriner's pins.  These things came from her recently deceased mother-in-law.  

The stitching was done more than a week ago ... but then came several "firsts"!  The stretcher bar and frame were the first things cut and built in the framing section of the sanctuary.  The first acid-free foam-centered boards were cut.  This was the first piece mounted and first piece photographed here in Cateechee.  Obviously, this is the first piece blogged from here too. Soon, it will be the first thing packaged and shipped! 

(Above:  Ernie the Cat sitting on the choir loft's railing, overlooking the sanctuary on the day the light fixtures were rewired!)

While this piece was marking many "firsts", lots of other things have been happening.  We had the electrician rewire the sanctuary lights!  Until this time, we were using a flashlight in this area after dark!

(Above:  The church after dark ... with the newly wired sanctuary lights ON !!!)

Now ... the church looks magnificent at night!  Yet, it will soon be different.  Why?  Well, Steve and I "bit the bullet" and are having the eight, tall sanctuary windows replaced (four on each side of the building).  I know that in photographs, these windows look as if they have stained glass.  They don't.  It's multi-colored spray painted Plexiglas held in place by wood in various stages of deterioration. (The circular windows are also painted Plexiglass but the wood is in good condition.  We are not planning on changing them.)  This rather expensive job will be the last major task in our renovation of this church.  I am really looking into lots more natural light flooding my studio!  Obviously, these windows are being custom built.  We don't have a firm installation date but I will blog the transformation!

(Above:  The last box being unpacked.)

Last week, the very last box was unpacked.  Steve and I celebrated this milestone ... which happened on the same day as the continuation of my Cascade/Lace Forest Installation!  Yes!  I'm working in my studio.  I've returned to the installation started last October during a two-week art residency at Bethany Arts Community.  I promise to blog this next!  It is coming along wonderfully!

(Above:  Doing the prep work for another Community Crazy Quilt public art project.)

Last week was also the time when I put together another Community Crazy Quilt public art project.  This one was for Artista Vista 2024 back in Columbia.  Steve and I seriously didn't think we would be returning to Columbia after only seven weeks away, but why not! 

(Above:  The Community Crazy Quilt Project during Artista Vista 2024.)

Scraps of vintage quilts, a piece of Battenburg lace, several fabric yoyos and crocheted circles, and buttons were shared with the public from 2 - 6 last Saturday.  It was hot but the turn out was still good.  Plenty of people stitched and I was even interviewed on film.  I will, of course, finish this piece.  It will become another unit in my Patchwork Installation.  I promise to blog that too!

(Above: Selfie at Hidden Falls.)

Steve and I haven't spent every day unpacking and trying to get our new life in working order.  There's been several days when we've hiked to one of the many South Carolina Upstate waterfalls.  Recently, we went to Oconee State Park and visited Hidden and Disappearing Waterfalls.  The smell of late spring filled our lung.  It was glorious!
 

Update on the progress of our move into the Cateechee mill village church

(Above:  Selfie at Todd Creek Falls.)

Every day at the Cateechee mill village church has been a busy one.  Box after box has been unpacked.  We work at finding new places for everything (and spend lots of time trying to remember where these places are!)  It is an exercise in "thinking outside the box".  What do I mean by that? Well ... just because we kept rolls of tape above the back sink doesn't mean we even have a back sink with overhead cabinets!  Finding a hammer, the broom and dustpan, and ... of course ... where we last put down our phones is a constant.  Little by little, however, everything is coming together.  (Now ... if the ever-so-behind-schedule contractor would finish the punch list ... well ... that would be nice!

(Above:  The upstairs bathroom.)

Blogging is something that I know will return with regularity when we are finally and fully MOVED IN.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.  Thank goodness.  Now, since my last blog post, lots has happened ... including hanging mirrors in the upstairs bathroom.  We really tried to sell most of the custom framed, beveled mirrors before we moved (at ridiculously low prices) but there were just too many.  So ... why not cover the upstairs bathroom in the remaining ones?

(Above:  The upstairs bathroom.)

The contractor's subs didn't manage to center the light fixture over the vanity ... but ... who really cares?  With the arrangement of mirrors, it just didn't matter to us.

(Above:  The downstairs bathroom.)

The downstairs bathroom had its share of problems too.  The shower door wasn't the correct size.  Three weeks after moving in, we got the door ... and on the same day, the free-standing tub was finally installed too.

(Above:  The downstairs bathroom.)

Obviously, it was worth the wait!

(Above:  The walk-in closet)

Had we understood that the "walk in closet" on the architectural renderings was simply an empty space, we might not have had to wait so long for it.  We didn't contract with ClosetPro until we'd been here for a week.  Then, it was two weeks before all these beautiful shelves and racks came.  The guy who put them in was fantastic.  Definitely, this was worth the wait!

(Above:  The 10' ceiling fan.)

Just last Friday, the 10' ceiling fan was installed.  (The contractor ordered the wrong down rod THREE TIMES! Thank goodness the architect ordered the right one! LOL!)  The sanctuary lights were rewired yesterday and today!  They weren't part of the original renovation, but we were able to independently hire the electrician who did all the other work.  We've also "bit the bullet" can have contracted with Lowe's to replace all eight sanctuary windows.  Believe it or not, the original ones are spray-painted (sky blues) Plexiglas mounted on wood in various states of disrepair.  We are hoping the new windows come in a couple weeks.

(Above:  The guest bedroom.)

We haven't found a bed frame yet ... but this will be the guest bedroom.  Our old futon mattress and feather topper are actually quite comfortable.

 

(Above:  A neighbor's son cutting the nearly one acre lot.)

We met several of our new neighbors.  One man was particularly helpful.  He loaned us his cat trap.  Why?  Well, we closed off the one broken vent in the crawl space.  We thought we'd scared all the stray cats out but apparently there was one mother with two kittens still under the church.  It took three days before we could say we were "feral cat free".  Ernie and Mr. Minnie seem to be the only cats with collars. After the first three weeks, we started letting them outside ... with supervision!  Mostly, however, they are staying indoors.  The sanctuary seems large enough for them to have space to roam!  The neighbor's son was then introduced ... and we hired him to cut the nearly one-acre lot and trim the low branches of the magnolia tree.  Now ... the yard looks wonderful!

(Above:  Stitching on a commissioned Found Object Mandala.)

The only way I am keeping sane during this transition is by having something on which to stitch.  Two, small pieces were finished (but not mounted, framed, photographed and ready to blog) when I got a commission from a dear friend.  The blue-and-white quilt had been her childhood blanket.  It was way beyond repair but absolutely perfect for this Found Object Mandala.  Just yesterday, Steve built the first frame in the church!  It was for this piece!  Plus, I've started cutting up crochet, lace, and other vintage linens in order to continue working on my Cascade/Lace Forest Installation! 

(Above:  Two visitors viewing the COVID-19 Mandala in Rescue: Waste and Redemption at the Lyndon House Art Center in Athens, Georgia.)

Steve and I also drove into Greenville for First Friday.  We got to three different venues and had a great time.  Yet, we were much more impressed by Rescue: Waste and Redemption at the Lyndon House Art Center in Athens, Georgia ... and not just because I stitched one of the twenty-two pieces accepted into the exhibit. 

(Above:  Guest curator Lizzie Zucker Saltz talking during the reception.)

This show was expertly curated by Lizzie Zucker Saltz.  There was a printed catalog (which also can be accessed digitally through the link above).  Ms. Zucker Saltz's approach was scholarly and well researched.  She even wrote the individual exhibition labels.  Every piece was tied to the problems facing our planet ... from hard to recycle materials, the hazards of hard plastics, climate change, the dangers in run off polluted water, fast fashion, to ordinary litter.

(Above:  Curator Lizzie Zucker Saltz beside Nell Ruby's 5.25.1910.)

Although every piece was brilliant, undoubtedly Steve and I had a favorite artwork.  It was Nell Ruby's 5.25.1910.  (The numbers refer to the date found on the chair indicating when it was made.)  The catalog reads:  When Breaking down a chair for disposal ... [Nell Ruby] soon gained an appreciation of each tour-of-the-century part, most of which could be reused or recycled. This is in contract to most of today's 'fast furniture' whose components often include off-gassing foam and un-recyclable fiber board held together by a formaldehyde glue."  The next paragraph includes: When you shop, look for wood furniture made from reclaimed wood and from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

(Above:  Selfie above Twin Falls.)

I think Steve and I like this "exploded" chair best because we have always been drawn to the high quality and generally low auction prices of vintage and antique furniture (and everything else!)  Perhaps this is why we knew we wanted to safe the Cateechee mill village church!  Plus ... we love nature.  We've taken a few afternoons to visit waterfalls in the area.  Here are some of our selfies!

(Above:  Selfie at Riley Moore Falls.)

(Above:  Selfie at Yellow Branch Falls.)

 (Above:  Selfie at Ramsey Falls.)