I didn't take the photo above. I pulled it off a social media post. Why? Well ... I haven't been to Columbia since delivering this artwork. At the time, the new Lantern Hotel was very, very busy with crew of workers finishing up the construction site's punch list, installing beds and mini refrigerators, and unpacking mountains of boxes containing all the things one expects to find in a hotel room. I am quite excited to have a reason to return to Columbia in the coming weeks and plan to stop by for an in-person experience and to capture other images.
So ... what's the "rest of the story"?
This piece actually started back in 2011 when I lay out a coffin flag and basted sixty-one little flags on top of it. The little flags once marked veterans' graves but were unceremoniously tossed into cemetery trash cans. I rescued them ... cleaned them ... ironed them ... and intended to machine stitch them to the coffin flag (found at an auction) while enjoying an art residency at Hot Springs National Park. To read this initial blog post, CLICK HERE. That plan went awry. The bulk of the piece nearly broke my Bernina machine. As a result, the piece was put into a box and forgotten until late 2022.
By the time I found the basted artwork in 2022, I was the proud owner of a Babylock Tiara sewing machine. With 16" of work space, this machine could easily handle the size and bulk. Happily, I free-motion stitched red, white, and blue threads for days on end. (To read that blog post, CLICK HERE.) I was able to photograph it at Stormwater Studios with help from my artistic mentor Stephen Chesley whose studio is located there. The image above was used for my successful entry into Surface Design Associations partnership show with Florida CraftArt ... an exhibit called Spaces Between. Unbelievably, it was awarded first place by juror Akiko Kotani. Of course I was thrill and very surprised. Of course I posted this good news to social media. That's how Kim Moon, lead interior designer at Garvin Design Group, a big architectural firm, saw it. She sent me a private message asking if it could be hung as a horizontal. My answer was, "Yes! Of course!"
Kim and I corresponded about the hotel and her interior design vision. That's how I learned that this boutique hotel was not a new construction but a renovation of the former fire station and fire tower in Columbia's downtown area called The Vista. We brainstormed about ways to make the artwork better reflect the former location and came up with the idea of wrapping fire hose around the art quilt. I sent a proposal and it was accepted!
Before writing my proposal, plenty of research was done. I learned all sorts of things about fire hose. I was able to talk to a representative at FireHose Direct before ordering these two. These are NOT the sort that a real fire company uses but appropriate for a community center or mechanical shop or for agricultural needs. Fire departments use much larger and wider hose! Real ones just wouldn't look as good on the art quilt and would have added way too much weight!
The biggest challenge, however, was to thoroughly think through the steps needed to altered the flag for a permanent, horizontal presentation on a hotel wall. It needed to be mounted using a French cleat/Z-bar. This wouldn't have been a problem if the piece wasn't wrapped with two fire hoses. After stitching the work to the canvas, I could have simply pulled the extra canvas around the 1" x 4" piece of wood and stapled/screwed it in place ... then screw the French cleat/Z-bar to the wood. The problem, however, was the thickness of the hoses on the reverse side. The French cleat/Z-bar couldn't lay flat! Thankfully, I had a plan! The first step was to suspend the piece from the loft in my sanctuary studio!
The photo above shows the artwork from the back side ... suspended from the loft ... with the canvas pulled over the 1" x 4" wood and screwed down. To suspend it, Steve and I attached four hangers to the top of the wood and used clothesline.
It was a rather simple task to wrap the two fire hose around the art quilt. Fortunately, I snapped this photo and sent it to Kim. I wondered about the stenciled lettering. It made it obvious that these two hoses were "fire hose" but it also advertised a company. Kim suggested flipping the white hose to show the um-stenciled side ... but having me stencil "Ladder 13" on it. That's the name of the Lantern's restaurant. She wondered whether I could locate brass nozzles for the ends of the hose ... the stereotypical look of an antique fire hose. Fortunately, I was able to source them! These changes were made.
Screws with large washers attached the back of the hose to the long slat of wood. Every hole was pre-drilled in order to avoid splitting the wood.
Once this was done, it was time to work on the French cleat/Z-bar. Steve screwed the French cleat/Z-bar to the nice, perfectly flat surface on the back side! This piece of aluminum works with another that is mounted to a wall. The two fit together to keep the entire work totally flat and permanently against the lobby wall. At this point, the work was ready to deliver to Columbia. This all happened even before I went to Montana for an art residency in October. The construction site, however, was behind schedule. The piece hung from the loft until ten days ago! Now it is on view and the hotel is open! I can't wait to visit and see it for myself!
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