Time is of the Essence
In the meeting where we discussed the mural and restoration timelines as stipulated in my emails, I also requested that many of my other MMHC responsibilities be minimized. I needed the extra time to design, plan and paint the mural. A quick look passed between both the CEO and general director, then they both smiled at me saying, “Certainly. Anything you need.” The exchange that passed between to two was a red flag. Regardless of my request, no one at the time was hired to replace my position on any of the projects.
The only duty that I was really released from was attending MMHC Museum meetings. This was confirmed in an email sent on December 3, 2016:
“We are now at the end of the beginning. The work of framing the content of the Museum is now largely complete. The work of Wendy in helping interpret my vision for the Museum is done. The work of the scholars is done. The writing of the narrative is nearing completion. The selection of artifacts has been completed. Accordingly, it is now necessary to move to the next phases of our work, which I describe as finalizing graphic design, arranging content and artifact placement and lastly installation. As we move into the final phases of our work, the composition of the active team will necessarily change. While the scholars remain available, we will have limited need for their expertise and thus they will not be called upon unless there is general agreement that additional information is needed and my approval is obtained. Similarly, Wendy’s work being now completed she will move on to other critical work related to the MMHC and will now be available for limited consulting concerning the work she has already completed. Wendy will no longer attend Museum Committee meetings unless there is general agreement on the need and I approve. Time is of the essence. We have only 6 months to review, refine, and install the Museum.”
This sounds pretty succinct, if it concerned all of the designs and text previously approved. During my absence in Fort Scott, portions of the gallery layout changed, as well as content. I had been unable to do much from far away and had little desire to fight this particular battle. I had mentioned to the CEO and general director during our early December lunch meeting that any changes to museum layout, thematic content, and artifact selection would jeopardize the museum team’s ability to produce a quality product for the opening. Besides, how much could really be changed at this point? The answer: everything.
Throughout the remainder of December 2015 and the beginning of January 2016, I continued to work on the following projects while doing preliminary work on the mural design:
- Putting together an informational packet regarding the Fort Scott scenery collection with a complete inventory and artistic provenance.
- Re-organizing the Fort Scott drops on specific line sets for the MMHC theatre; estimating line set weights for the drops.
- Hiring an assistant to work on unpacking the St. Paul Masonic library acquisition and start preliminary processing.
- Working with the museum team and organizing artifacts for museum display cases.
- Finalizing paint colors with the interior designers, architects and construction leads for the theatre and the lodge room.
- Creating test samples for mural fabric to be used in the lodge room.
- Contacting and interviewing possible individuals to work on the first phase of the scenery restoration project.
- Completing full-scale detail drawings for the stained glass window and selecting glass colors.
- Reviewing video scripts and historical details for interactive exhibits in the museum.
- Designing the mural paint frame and discussing its construction with the Minnesota Masonic Home grounds crew.
- Selecting a studio space and making sure that there was ample space and height for the work.
- Ordering the necessary mural painting supplies and coordinating their delivery to the studio space.
- Continuing to attend a variety of construction and production meetings every week as the Curatorial Director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.
- Doing promotional sessions for a variety of organizations, including the Kennedy Center for the Arts Academic Festival conference that was meeting at Normandale Community College.
We had only six months to go before the June 24 opening and I was starting to show signs of wear and tear. While juggling the various work projects listed above, I was constantly scheduling medical appointments as doctors tried diagnose and treat my constant back pain, resulting from the injury that occurred while unloading the Fort Scott scenery tubes. Regardless of my hectic schedule and the holidays, it appeared that we might actually meet all of the deadlines! I was living my dream to preserve the past for future generations. This building had so much potential as a state-of-the-art facility, complete with a scenery collection, a six-gallery freemasonry museum, a research library and an event center.
To be continued…
