We got the keys to the space in the second week of May and we were finally able to jump into motion. The closing was all very precarious and we had been stuck ruminating on ideas and how to execute, without actually feeling confident enough to begin. That all changed in a matter of hours and it was time to celebrate, then get to work.
I had already been planning my idea for what our grand opening would be, something simple, but memorable. Richmond had recently lost a mural by The Night Owl, it was an image that you would see on a vintage postcard, one that ha to depict all of the charm of a city in one tiny rectangle. This inspired me to allow folks to recreate that postcard look, and i would provide the signage, “Greetings from Richmond”.
I wanted to make the sign 3D as to look like a real heavy canvas banner. I got sheets of insulation foam, covered them in joint tape to provide texture, then layered with canvas stirps of plaster. I sanded it down and added joint compound on top to give a smoother texture, and then painted with an off white primer to make it cohesive. Then I sketched out the text and painted it o with a classic shade of red.
The banner was 4 pieces, the main body, a rectangle on top for the ‘greetings from” and two side flaps that were made separately as to look like fabric folded over itself. I was able to glue the two central pieces together, but the side flaps were a lot heavier and wouldn’t stay attached after it was lifted int he air. I ended up bolting the flaps through to the main body, and painting over the bolt heads white and red to blend in. They were practically invisible once it was hung up.
Making the banner was the easy part. I think most 3D artists will agree with this, figuring out how to hang it safely and securely is always much more of a challenge and takes a different side of your brain.
We were able to use the existing ceiling beams to mount eye hooks, then I glued and screwed the same eye hooks into the main body of the foam banner. I tied thick sisal twine around the hooks on the banner on each side, fed the end of the ropes through the hooks on the ceiling, and lifted the banner up. To keep the ropes where I wanted them, I mounted a boat cleat on the wall on either side of the backdrop curtain. I wrapped the sisal around and secured it.
We got that done Thursday night and the real test was if it was up the next morning!
Meanwhile, we were having an entirely different fiasco on getting a printer to actually make the postcards. We had ordered one that came broken, we got a replacement lost in the FedEx warehouse in California, and another that was hopefully going to make it. It arrived in the nick of time, but too late for any testing or trial and error.
Once the night kicked off, we soon realized the printer was not going to be fast enough to handle the volume we had. Thankfully, everyone was incredibly patient and kind. And at the end of the day, our first First Friday at Glass Eye was a success!
