Ms. Dennis’ third grade class really ROCKS! Both of her classes participated in the project and were very excited to do something to show support and honor our troops. Many thanks to Rachel who enlisted this group of outstanding students. Over 150 bottles are ready to add to the wall. Thanks everyone!
Here is Beth at the loading dock of the Main library downtown. She had both empty and filled bottles, all neatly stacked in boxes. I’ve never seen such an organized delivery. Beth set up receptacles in all the conference rooms and was able to collect a bunch of bottles. This is her second delivery. I think Beth is going to be happy with the wall that she has provided materials for. In fact the wall will be right at her doorstep in Main Street Park.
Brett and Michele are seen here doing a special TRX workout with water bottles! Careful guys, that looks pretty tough. They have contributed over 200 bottles to the project and we thank you. And many thanks also to Rachel, gym instructor extraordinaire, who is spreading the word about our project to all the world.
Thanks to Sue, we have over 250 bottles and messages from the residents of the Mt. Carmel Gardens Retirement Home. At Sue’s invitation, I met with several of the residents a few weeks ago to explain the project and they enthusiastically accepted the challenge of collecting and drying bottles, and then getting together to write messages. It was a big project and Sue reports that the residents had a lot of fun. We appreciate all of you!
Sue also sends this photo of the residents working on their bottles. From the left, Estelle, Sandra, Sue, and Joan. Thanks ladies!
We received a nice visit from Terry, Nancy, and Pam who were dropping off a second load of bottles. They also checked out our progress with the construction and were excited to know that the wall is becoming a reality (me too!). It’s great to have people come by the studio to see the model and all the bottles collected so far. Thanks ladies for all your efforts and we hope to see you at the opening!
Danny and Jenny are from the Big Apple and they enjoy coming downtown to Art Walk because it reminds them of the gallery tours and events in New York. Danny’s brother is in the Army, so when he met Dorian at MOCA, he immediately wanted to become involved. Danny collected bottles from friends, office, church, and business organizations, and brought his results over to the studio today. Thanks Danny and Jeannie for contributing your time and effort to the project. It was a real pleasure meeting and talking to you and I hope we see you at the opening.
Michele reports on her great progress so far with Everbank (Wholesale Closing Department), The Kroom Family, and Wade Haynes. Thanks Michele and Rachel for being our Messengers!
Photojournalist Mark Clanton from WJXT was in the studio this morning to film a brief segment on the project. Mark took a lot of time to learn about the project and then to shoot around the studio and the wall construction. If there is a link to the segment I’ll be sure to post it. Right now I’m encouraging people to promote the website to anyone they know in the military because this project is for them. And to save the date May 2 Art Walk for our planned opening event. We’re getting excited!
Thanks to Bill Yates for the pics.
A big thanks to all who came to Art Walk last night. We had collection points at MOCA, The Art Center, Southlight Gallery, and Studio 121. Lots of people are still discovering the project and getting excited about it. It’s always great to talk to the kids, who seem to be the most receptive to the whole idea. Aren’t kids great? Next Art Walk we will be previewing the completed sections in the studio. We’re getting close to launch time. Yikes!
The Wall is designed to be built in segments, each one a 66″ x 66″ frame surrounding the bottles. This will make the segments easier to handle once we pre-assemble them in the studio. I working on 3 initial frames and hope to have them done by the weekend. With the current estimated bottle count, we will need 25 frames to complete the project. I’ll be posting more details as the construction proceeds.
