Adversity Reveals Character
As we drove home from the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center after the Singers in Accord concert, my husband and I discussed strategies that might distance myself from the poorly restored scenery. I did not want to appear as a disgruntled individual, speaking out against a past employer. Nor did I want to seem slanderous toward others, criticizing their work. However, I did want to make sure that the very poor work of others was not attributed to, or associated with, my own reputation.
Unfortunately, my name was intricately linked to the Fort Scott collection online and numerous articles supported my role as the restoration supervisor. Furthermore, the video produced by Steve Johnson’s company, Alacrity, for the 2016 Minnesota Masonic Charities Breakfast at Grand Lodge identified me as the one who would be in charge of the entire project.
Colleagues from across the country were still congratulating me about relocating the scenery, finding the Thomas Moses artifacts, and inquiring about the restoration. I continued to politely explain that my position as Curatorial Director had been eliminated and I had no knowledge of who was restoring the Fort Scott scenery, or when the project would be completed. It was easiest to not name any names at this point. These conversations always ended in awkward silence, with a colleague saying, “Well, that’s too bad. I guess it’s their loss.”
I tried to celebrate my victories and avoid looking back, leaving all of my “what ifs” on the doorstep. Each time I thought the healing would finally begin, Minnesota Masonic Charities, Minnesota Masonic Home, or the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center circus would return. The clowns kept pulling me back into the ring. One time, the unemployment office was notified that I was still receiving money from a previous employer – I was not. Then came identity theft of my personal information and the fraudulent filing of a workman’s comp claim, effectively negating my actual injury from when I unloaded the scenery tubes during 2015. Another was the lack of necessary paperwork needed for my 2016 taxes. This was getting ridiculous. I anticipated leaving town at every opportunity as I just wanted escape.
It wasn’t until I realized that the scenery was being destroyed and my name attached to the debacle that I decided to speak out. Enough was enough.
I started with a single post, distancing myself from the collection and noting those who had destroyed the scenery. I would place it on my personal Facebook page, my group Facebook page (called Dry Pigment), and my blog www.drypigment.net. Here is the post from the morning after the February 11, 2017, concert:
“I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SCENERY RESTORATION AT THE MINNESOTA MASONIC HERITAGE CENTER
My husband’s concert last night at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center was a success! He set songs to the scenery I located, suggested for purchase, and supervised the subsequent removal and transportation from Fort Scott, Kansas, to Bloomington, Minnesota. My involvement stopped there!
Everyone I encountered last night who was familiar with my history of restoring Scottish Rite scenery, believed that I was responsible for the restoration. Much of this belief, no doubt, was based on the video shown during Grand Lodge (March 2016) at the Minnesota Masonic Charities breakfast, using my profile and reporting that a nationally recognized expert would restore the entire collection.
For professional reasons, I must distance myself from this project as the scenery has been destroyed with hot melt glue.
It is a shameful destruction of historical paintings created by the nationally recognized fine artist, Thomas Gibbs Moses (1856-1934). Attached are pictures of the scenery from last night, showing the work of someone who has never restored scenery before this project.
For past examples of my own restoration work, visit my website at www.bellascena.com”
I tried to remain positive, simply focusing on my own work and publishing past experience. Below are some examples of my own restoration work over the past few years.
I knew that Kimber Lawler was working on the restoration project all along. During Fall 2016, I had asked Mia Shillace-Nelson, owner of Outhouse Exhibit Services about her involvement. Mia had hired Kimber to paint the murals for the Ladd museum exhibits. But who was Kimber working with, as it would take a crew of people to do the preparation and actual hanging of the scenery? Could it possibly be Mia Schillace-Nelson, who was trained to handle historic artifacts?
January 2017 internet searches revealed that the project was being completed at Outhouse Exhibit Services in Northeast Minneapolis (see installment 55). I had worked with Mia and her company for two years as we designed the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center museum exhibits. I was shocked that Mia would have said nothing about her own involvement working on the restoration when I inquired about Kimber’s involvement.
Mia had once asked me how to restore scenery, requesting that I verbally walk her through the entire restoration process. In hindsight, it would suggest that she needed this information to bid on the project. Her company’s Facebook page noted that the scenery restoration work was occurring in her shop. The post has since been removed. I had once considered Mia to be a close friend.
To be continued…
