Liberty Bank Building: Hammering a dream together

I figured out what “civic innovation” means, in plain English: it’s “what happens when people commit to getting big stuff done, even though it’s gonna take years.”

The apartments and their artwork are nearly done now, but it wasn’t built in a day — or by one company, for that matter. You can find out who did the heavy lifting, at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).

Hope to see you there!

Almost ready for prime time

The varnish is on the collage portraits, and curing steadily!

The Liberty Bank Building founder portraits are all done except the framing (which I’ve chosen but will have someone else do for me). After living with this project for nearly two years, it’s a little strange to put away the paper bits for good.

The Liberty Bank apartments are almost ready as well, and the builders expect to install my work in the residents’ lounge early next month. So we should be celebrating the grand opening soon; I’ll let you know when!

Drying times may vary

Finally ready to seal and varnish the Liberty Bank Building collage portraits! It takes about a week or two for varnish to cure, weather permitting. And that’s the thing…

The view from my studio this week

Winter dampness is beginning to settle in around here. That means the curing process slows down, which might delay when I can get them framed… which means they’d still be waiting in my studio that much longer. Gaaah.

If I warm the collages gently with my heat gun periodically, hopefully I can compensate for the increased humidity. Cross your fingers for me.