Visionary Museum Part 4, The Roof

Hello Baltimore! We are now on the roof. The fourth and final phase of the mosaic project and the 20 year anniversary of the American Visionary Art Museum entails the crowning and covering of the small rooftop surface (upper skylight shaft) visible from across the Inner Harbor, and most visible from Federal Hill Park.

Like always, this is a proper mix of manual labor construction, and fine art. In November we spaced and hung the steel struts and installed 90 cement board panels, then de-installed to take back to our studio for design and mosaicing. Late spring/early summer look for us up in the lift piecing together the final glitz and glam. PS even when icy cold, the view is worth it.

The Fin

After finishing the mosaic wall at AVAM, we flipped to the North side of the building to complete a 20ft. fin-like pennant facing Key Highway.

Sunset meeting night sky, in conjunction with south side of the building (Day, 2006) and west side of the building (Aurora Borealis 2014).

Night (2013)

30 feet up; transferring glass from strips of industrial contact paper, after building the entirety of this in our studio. 

Glass process

Mosaic Wall Opening and Dedication | Rebecca Hoffberger | Juvenile Services Program

The young men of the Schaefer House (Juvenile Services group home for boys) were a huge contributing factor to the 2000 sq. foot mosaic that was installed and dedicated in October.

Watch the "DJS TV" short video about it here, hear interviews with the guys, and see them working in our studio. See some of their personal work from our program this past year.

Above: Installing the last ceremonial panel.

Artist Mari Gardner, and (below) AVAM founder Rebecca Hoffberger during presentations with the Schaefer House guys, and crew.

Studio crew: (Photos courtesy of Maryann Baker)

A really lovely day for a crowd. Below: poem taken from  museum's annual literature.

Aurora Borealis: Wall Complete

The Visionary Museum mosaic wall facing Federal Hill in Baltimore has [long been] completed! Just recently there were some great photos taken.

above photo: Dan Meyers

First day of install.

I'm in the lift with Kyle Miller, and Eddie from Schaefer House!

View of Inner Harbor, and third story panels from the AVAM roof.

The core of the Northern Lights spiral. 30 lb. cement half-sphere painted with electrifying automotive paint .

Completed October 2014. Click here to see midway point process photos.

The Schaefer House Boys

Part of my work (glass studio+mosaicing+AVAM) involves teaching, coaching, and interacting with a group of young men from the William Donald Schaefer House of Baltimore, (a group home for boys in the juvenile detention system) who are being treated there for various health and addiction related issues before going home. Sincerely- they are a pleasure to work with. 

Listen to their interview this Friday at 7pm (+ Saturday at 3p), on WYPR (MD NPR station 88.1 fm) as a segment on The Signal, with Aaron Henkin. It is so good! Or listen here.

The boys learn foundations by building their own pieces, and then make 2d circles and 3d "pop-out" spheres that are permanently installed in the main architectural mosaic at the museum.

They are eager to be there. They are ambitious and diligent. They always get right to work on the masterpieces they have been constructing from session to session (after changing the music selection).

They have also developed a very specific art skill that not even other high schoolers (who are young artists in stable home/school environments) traditionally would have. For that, I am so proud of them. They are funny. They make funny things (see "Fats Life" vs "Fast Life" above.. Fats was one guy's nickname). They all make beautiful glass hearts, and most of the time for their family members (hear about it in the interview).

This Sunday, October 26 at 3pm, is the opening and completion ceremony at the Visionary Museum. If you are in Baltimore stop by 800 Key Highway, it's free and open to the public. Several of the boys will be in attendance to hang their very last panel and see the whole 2000 sq. feet in it's permanent glory. I cannot wait to see and hear their reactions.

Star-Spangled Spectacular (+More Mural Photos)

The Star-Spangled 200 was Baltimore's big to-do this year.  This month commemorated the completion of Francis Scott Key's "Defense of Fort M'Henry" which evolved into our national anthem. The Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission provided the funding, and was the reason behind the sidewalk mural I was painting last summer.

In a press release from the Visionary Museum, the mural is said to be a

"lively, complimentary and decidedly pro-peace take on Baltimore’s and America’s extraordinary true history."

We finished well into the cold season, but the snow and ice were generally good to the work. Here are the new and final additions not shown in previous posts.

The southern end of the mural features Chief Tecumseh from an anamorphic 3-D perspective, the far north side (museum entrance to Covington St.) are the written lines of his beautiful famous speech. 

Portraits of notable Baltimore natives were also painted near the main entrance of the museum. 

Tall Ships and Blue Angels (Featured ship: El Galeon Andalucia).

September 14, 2014 Canton Waterfront Park; Baltimore provided the people with Maryland's largest fireworks display to date.

(“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."-Chief Tecumseh)