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Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 31.

Art for Art’s Sake

On December 2, 2015, I sent out two separate emails, detailing estimates for labor, materials, and production timelines for both the 14’ x 20’ mural project and the 19-drop restoration project. I was very clear that as the mural project happened first, any delay would influence the restoration project.

The timeline for mural project included specific target dates to stay on track:

1.) Finalize design and create renderings for King Solomon’s Temple mural (December 15, 2015-January 15, 2016).

2.) Secure painting space/construct paint frame by January 15, 2016.

3.) Prep space and drop off mural supplies (January 15, 2016 to February 1, 2016).

4.) Paint Temple Mural (February 1-February 26, 2016).

5.) Possibly paint side murals (February 29, 2016 to March 31, 2016). The total number of side murals, if any, will depend upon the complexity of composition and completion date of Temple mural.

6.) Completed mural will be rolled, encapsulated in plastic, and stored onsite.”

The timeline for the restoration also included very specific target dates to ensure the completion of 19 drops:

1.) Remove and transport all necessary battens to MMHC stage on April 1,

2016. This required a rental truck and labor to transport approximately 1,710

linear feet of pine boards, weighing approximately 1500 lbs. I would supervise four individuals to complete this task.

2.) Remove 19 drops from storage April 2, 2015, and move to MMHC stage, necessitating a rental truck and four individuals to move the drops.

3.) Scenery restoration of 19 drops from April 4, 2016 to June 3, 2015.

4.) Hanging of the 19 drops from June 6 to June 11, 2016. An additional week would be reserved on the stage as a contingency for extenuating circumstances or delays.

For the restoration project, we would solely focus on the backdrops at first. Besides, they would be the most impressive for the opening, giving the public a sense of the collection. The drops would be presented as “Artwork by Thomas G. Moses” and not general historic scenery. Each backdrop would be a stand-alone painting, depicting a portion of a scene that still remained to be restored. This would also facilitate their promotion as a large-scale artworks created by a nationally recognized artist.

I estimated that it would take 38 days to clean and stabilize 19 drops, not including transportation to the theatre or set up. The 19 backdrops for the opening would include the

Cathedral (used for multiple degrees),

Woods (used for multiple degrees),

Cave (9th degree),

Treasure Chamber (15th degree),

Classical Interior (31st degree),

Egyptian Interior (31st degree),

Jacques de Molay Mausoleum (30th degree),

the INRI landscape (18th degree),

Darius’ Festival Palace (16th degree),

Camp Tent and backing (32nd degree),

Secret Vault (14th degree),

Grand Encampment (32nd degree),

Hiram’s Tomb (5th degree),

Catacombs (30th degree),

Gothic Interior/Dungeon (27th -29th degrees),

Hades (18th degree),

Constellation scene (Faith, Hope and Charity for the 18th degree),

and the Volcano landscape (17th degree)

I was shocked on January 13, 2016, when the CEO asked for all of this information again as all of the specifics had all been submitted a month prior and discussed multiple times. My uneasiness grew as I began to think that my employer had no comprehension of how much work was involved in the projects. I had never had this difficulty with anyone and started to wonder if this was a result of his skimming email content. I started to have a very bad feeling about the entire endeavor. Would all this money go to waste in the end?

It was at this point that the general director called me into his office, proposing that he really needed to help me and explained that I had extremely poor communication skills. He had worked with the CEO for years in other venues and suggested that he could provide a friendly barrier for me with the CEO. My only job was to request that general director be my immediate supervisor instead of the CEO.

Right now, we were on equal footing at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Each of our positions reported directed to the CEO. He was the General Director, responsible for the running of the facility. I was the Curatorial Director, responsible for all acquisitions, content, and presentation of materials to the public.

I smiled politely, thanked him for the advice, and explained that I had always been capable of speaking for myself.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 30.

Painted Setbacks

The CEO and the general director took me out to lunch the week after my return from Fort Scott. It was the beginning of December 2015. The intent of the meeting was to discuss details pertaining to my upcoming projects and necessary timelines. I explained that, realistically, I could only complete one mural in time for the opening if they wanted any restored scenery at all. I suggested that we only focus on the wall behind the Master’s Chair in the East. It was possible that I could do more prior to commencing the restoration, but much depended on the complexity of the final composition and the amount of architectural detail in the mural design.

I had so much on my plate at this point, that I did not feel compelled to be the sole muralist for the lodge room. Regardless of who designed and painted the murals, they just needed to be from they same hand so that there would be some uniformity. Ideally, whoever created the first mural should complete the remainder of murals, unless they decided to do a nationwide search and select well-known artists for individual commissions – but that could be dicey and look like a patchwork quilt in the end. The CEO was adamant that I should paint the murals.

Then, the general director said, “Well, it’s not as if we have seen your work or even know if you can really paint.” Smiling he added, “We’re just basing our opinion on your own statements.” There was a pause as I tried to figure out how to phrase a response to this insult.

After all of my mural designs, my designs for stained glass artwork, and the variety of other visual projects that I had completed during the last fourteen months, my skills were now being questioned. The CEO was keenly watching my reaction and couldn’t hide his interest in my response. I took a slow and steady breath, refusing to show either irritation or anger. For this next statement, I would remain calm and collected throughout my response.

“Well,” I said, “How about if you both visit my website and see if my talent is worthy of the project. My past painting and restoration work can be found at my old website http://www.bellascena.com I can always bring in my actual portfolio too.” I carefully took out a piece of paper from my purse to write down the website for them, but he stopped me and said, “Just email me the link.”

In all my years of painting scenery or producing fine art, my artistic talent has never been questioned. In a nutshell, artists have a hard time lying about their skills when they produce a final product that remains for the world to critique. Furthermore, I refused to be sucked into a quibbling match with the general director. Something had happened during my absence in Fort Scott and I couldn’t figure out how I had become his sudden enemy. Regardless of the tense atmosphere, I returned to the discussion regarding the mural timeline, explaining that it was possible to complete one mural and restore nineteen drops by June 24, 2016.

I would need to have approval on a final design, place an order for all the materials, secure a studio space, construct a paint frame for the mural, set up the space, and commence with the painting by January 15, 2016 – just a little over a month away. This project was also impossible to complete in a 30-hour workweek, so I would have to be bumped to a full-time as I was not going to continue working fifty hours a week for part-time employment.

Ironically, the lodge room murals were now extremely important to the CEO. He was adamant about getting some life back into the fairly sterile lodge room as it was currently white columns against off-white walls. What he initially admired as “simple and elegant,” now was problematic – devoid of personality without draperies and painted murals.

Who could have envisioned that white against white might be lackluster? During our road trip to Fort Scott and Guthrie, we had discussed the use of painted panels in lieu of wall murals as I was concerned about the lack of color. The room would read as simply white. My suggestion was to create wall panels between the five orders of architecture and paint the central panel a color – helping to liven up the room until murals could replace them. After the building opened, there would be ample time to paint and insert various compositions, tracing charts, or other historic memorabilia into these spaces.

However, this was an unanticipated project and additional workload for me – complicated by the recent scenery acquisition. Now, we had a scenery collection and it was my primary focus. All of the restoration estimations had been based on the fact that I wouldn’t be distracted with mural painting, or any decorative painting throughout the complex.

Regardless of other assigned tasks, I needed to start restoring the collection no later than April 1, 2016 to complete 19 backdrops for the June 24 opening. To even complete the restoration, I needed to minimize my current in involvement as museum exhibit curator, library administrator, and historical consultant for the interior design team, architects, and museum team.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 29.

When Everything Goes to Hell in a Hand Basket

There is a certain point when I identify disaster looming ahead and try to prevent it. My husband refers to this as my “super power.” He explains that unlike many individuals, I anticipate all possible problems and immediately prepare a variety of solutions for every scenario. I attribute this to my theatre training and work with scenery restoration. Every project is filled with surprises, but in theatre we still need to make the final deadline – no exceptions.

The morning after the Fort Scott scenery was unloaded in Bloomington, Minnesota, another project popped up on the radar the next day, or I should say a red flag. This was the mural design and painting for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center lodge room. All of the hand painted murals that I had designed and presented during 2014-2015 had been cut by the CEO as they weren’t deemed “essential” for opening day. This was a way to cut overall costs for a complex that was financially spiraling out of control. Furthermore, the general director had suggested that we use digital print outs in lieu hand painting, believing that they would work just fine. I had plenty of tasks at hand so just let the subject go, understanding that the painting had been cut.

That morning the CEO invited Ty, Amanda, the general director and me out to breakfast to thank us for a job well done. I wanted the CEO to meet the owner of BellaTex, LLC, and his vice-president of operations as they had personally transported the scenery collection from Kansas to Minnesota. I believed that this company should hang all of the scenery. In particular, I wanted the lead on site to supervise a crew, as he was intimately familiar with each drop and the necessary hardware for scenic illusions. It would be ludicrous to hire anyone else at this point.

Training and explaining of this construction, mechanics, and standard hanging apparatus for this particular scenery collection would be incredibly time-consuming and expensive if we used anyone unfamiliar with historic scenery. Worse yet, an inexperienced crew could irreparably damage the scenery and the collection signifies a substantial investment of over $100,000 just to purchase and transport. I wanted the CEO to meet the owner of BellaTex face to face and to understand the amount of professionalism and knowledge that Ty brought to the table.

After breakfast, Ty, Amanda, and I headed over to the construction site so that they could meet the leads at A&P Construction – especially Pat Sims. Again, it was to put a face with a name since the BellaTex people were in town. We had just finished the basic introductions and were planning to leave when Pat said, “Wait a minute, Wendy. I want to talk to you about the hand-painted murals.”

He must have read the look of shock on my face, as he immediately looked uneasy. “What murals? They have all been cut. They were taken off the table quite a while ago.”

“Well,” he said, “they still have a budget line and are in all of the most recent paperwork.”

I nodded apologetically and said, “Well that is really too bad as there simply isn’t enough time now. A year ago, I explained to the CEO that it would take a full year with me focusing on this full-time. Maybe you mean the digital versions that the general director suggested and not hand-painted murals.”

“No,” he said, “They are still anticipating hand-painted murals on all of the walls in the lodge room.”

This is when there was an awkward silence in the room. Ty and Amanda were there to witness this whole exchange. I decided to extract myself from the conversation with,” Well, I’ll talk to the CEO right now as Ty and Amanda are leaving town.”

There was no way I could complete all of the murals for the lodge room and get anything restored for the opening. I immediately headed over to the CEO’s office to find out what was going on, as it had to be an error in communication.

It was unrealistic to expect one individual to paint all of the murals while leading the scenery restoration in a mere five months. Obviously, the CEO did not understand the amount of time that it took to either paint or restore, regardless of the labor estimates and timelines that I had previously submitted to him. The lodge room murals totaled about 2,250 square feet and all of it was to be trompe l’oeil painting – very high end and realistic painting. This did not even take into consideration the ceiling mural that I had declined to paint and was contacting Ann Gumpper to bid on. The design for King Solomon’s Temple in the east was also highly architectural and would take a ridiculous amount of time. Plus the mural painting, each restored drop took approximately 5 days with a full crew, once it was on site.

On top of this, I was still the curator for the opening museum exhibit and in charge of processing the 10,000-item St. Paul Scottish Rite library. I was still only hired for 30 hours each week and I simply could not see how all of this was going to happen – especially trying to complete any the restoration. However, it was apparent that the CEO did, in fact, expect me to produce all of the murals and complete the restoration of everything for the opening.

To be continued…

East end of MMHC lode room behind the Master’s Chair. Initial design size to be 14′ x 20′ depicting completed temple of King Solomon. No figures as the Master of the Lodge and others would form the foreground for scale.

Second design with more ornamental draperies that BellaTex, LLC bid on for production.

Design for west wall of MMHC Lodge room. The composition would provided the five orders of architecture with the correct dimension and imagery for the Middle Chamber lecture in the second degree of the Symbolic Lodge.

Sidewall mural design for MMHC Lodge Room. Two of these, each measuring approximately 50′ long.

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 28.

Take it to Warp Speed

Wooden battens warp over time and people often want to replace the “old” pieces of pine with new lumber. I have only attempted this with one drop and it failed miserably, warping far worse than the original battens as it was young lumber. You have to understand that historic battens were first-cut and old-growth timber, meaning the graining is tighter than modern pine and contains very few flaws and knots. The wood that was used for the stage scenery is a far better quality than what I can find today. It is easy to un-warp old boards by swapping the battens and reshaping each piece.

Unfortunately, there are many individuals who do not fully understand the critical purpose of the battens in historical scenery collections. Again, these are the battens placed at the top and bottoms of each painted drop. Wooden battens stretch the top and bottom of the painted scene perfectly.

Original tacks that stretched and attached bottom of drop to a wooden batten. Another board was placed over this and the two boards were screwed together, thus allowing compression to hold and stretch the painted scene

Some people even recommend that all of the wood must be removed and replaced with pipe pockets and jute webbing. What is their reasoning? Pipes will stay straight and jute won’t warp like wooden battens. Pipes can remain straight, but only if they have a big enough diameter and it is thick enough not to bend. The large size also means that there is a great strain on the pipe pocket seams due to the increased weight. If the pipes are light enough to not stress the seam, they also are subject to bending.

Furthermore, jute webbing and pipe pockets often create massive wrinkles throughout a historic composition once the drop is hanging. When using battens, the fabric is stretched and tacked to prevent the “bunching up” of fabric along the bottom. The only reason that causes massive wrinkles with wooden battens is if the pick points that support the drop fall out of level. This simply necessitates trimming each line to make sure that it remains parallel to the floor. With pipe pockets, entire sections of fabric at the bottom of each drop can “bunch up,” forming entire sections of wrinkles that appear like ripples across a water’s surface. Trying to pull out these wrinkles once it is hanging will often cause the aged fabric to rip. Similarly, jute webbing can also cause some wrinkles as the tie lines do not always keep the fabric taut, allowing some sections to sag.

Wrinkles resulting from fabric bunching up along pipe pocket. This does not happen with wooden battens.

Attaching pipe pockets and jute webbing to a historical painted scene is a very different beast than sewing on jute and pipe pockets to new drops. There are numerous factors that must be taken into consideration prior to making this decision, especially the condition of the fabric.

The biggest problem is that sewing ANYTHING onto an historical drop necessitates perforating the old fabric, thus causing a weakness in the structural integrity – even with double seaming. Over time, the old fabric WILL fail and the pipe pocket will detach from the original fabric, allowing the pipe to plummet to the stage.

Pipe detaching from pocket due to weight.

Similarly at the top, sewing on jute webbing with grommets also causes a weakness in the structural integrity of the fabric. The weight of the pipe will target the weakness along the stitched edge and rip. ANY trained theatre professional will immediately understand why pipe pockets and jute webbing should not be sewn onto historic fabric and weighted. It may hold for a while, but it will eventually fail.

Failing pipe pocket cause entire vertical seam to release from the drop due to weight – hence the open space!

Pipe pocket that has failed and fabric separated form pipe.

Failed pipe pocket on cut drop with detached onstage edge in cut opening. The wooden supports now catch on neighboring lines.

I just viewed a perfect example of the problems that result from replacing wooden battens with pipe pockets and jute webbing at the Scottish Rite in Saint Louis, Missouri. All of the wooden battens were removed on each painted scene. On the top, jute webbing with grommets and tie lines were sewn along the top edge of the thin and old fabric. On the bottom, the fabric was initially folded to create a pipe pocket. Many of the pipe pockets from the first alteration failed, so a second pre-constructed pipe pocket was sewn above the damage. Unfortunately, that failed too. Why? Because the fabric was perforated, created a weak area and caused the fabric to rip.

With pipes, there is the potential for damage at multiple points across the bottom of a drop, but especially at the ends and the connections. The sharp edges, or threaded areas will rip the fabric. Also, the connections will come apart as the pipe shifts over time – unless they are soldered. Now, pipe pockets began to appear in the 1920s as the price of steel was affordable and this was a cost-effective alternative to wood. Unfortunately, over time the seams are more at risk than the wooden battens as the wooden battens compress the fabric. If not the fabric ripping, the thread will fail as it the cause at the Scottish Rite in Moline, Illinois (ca. 1929). Battens just work better if you are attempting to hang historic drops for several decades.

1929 pipe pocket where stitching has failed due to dry rotted thread.

For years, I have warned against simply sewing pipe pockets onto historic drops, yet individuals have continued to sew pipe pockets onto historical scenery. I receive calls from those who did not head my advice.

If the pipe is too light, it will not pull out the wrinkles. Furthermore, if the pipe has too narrow of a diameter, it will bend. For example, if a skinny pipe on a cut drop is used and the cut open gets damaged – the pipe will bend and the bottom of the drop will look like it is smiling at the audience.

At some point, the collection is dangerous for all those below it and each production is a game of Russian roulette. Who will be standing below the pipe when it lets go and will they die? Is the theatre owner willing to take that particular risk?

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 27.

Batten Down the Hatches

I estimated the replacement value for this historic scenery collection at approximately 1.5 million dollars, excluding all of the other accessories that we had brought back from Fort Scott. The Ready Labor crew was treating the rolls like cardboard tubes and not artworks. I couldn’t help but think, “This might be one of the reasons that museums don’t hire Ready Labor to handle historic artifacts.”

Bloomington, MN. Note that the spacing of those carrying the tub is not even. This means that the tube is not supported on the end, causing the object to be more difficult to handle when loading into the storage unit.

As the three Ready Labor hires and the general director shoved the tubes into the storage unit, they repeatedly smashed the ends against the central supports. The crew was not being careful nor observant. Although, I had repeatedly explained the unloading and loading process, no one seemed to remember it. I supervised this exact same task the previous year when the Winona Scottish Rite scenery was placed into a similar storage unit and hadn’t had any problems.

Winona Scottish Rite Storage Units from 2014

The tubes needed to be slowly and gently inserted into each slot, carefully being lifted and guided over each central support as to not scrape the fabric. This meant that as the tube was inserted, the lead individual at the front of the tube had to get into the unit and gently guide each tube over the numerous horizontal supports. I could clearly see that this was not happening and no amount of verbal direction from me would alter their actions, especially while I was working in the truck.

Ty, the owner of BellaTex, LLC, immediately identified my dilemma and jumped into help. He understood that no one was listening to me and started to give direction from within the storage unit. Unfortunately, his presence only helped a little bit. At one point, Ty’s hand was badly smashed when he tried to guide the tube over the supports and the crew did not listen – they just kept shoving forward. Bruised and bleeding, Ty continued to guide each tube through the slots while trying to minimize the overall damage. He was the only person attempting to gently handle these historic artworks and it was painful to watch. I heaved a sigh of relief as we completed the scenery rolls.

View from far end of storage unit in Bloomington, Minnesota, looking toward outer door.

We next focused on unloading the wooden battens. Removing 13,000 linear feet of pine boards is an intimidating task, especially when one is running behind schedule. In Fort Scott, I had carefully labeled each batten bundle, separating the tops from the bottoms to facilitate the installation of each scene. As I had already injured my back that morning and Ty had also injured his hand, I decided that we would identify and distribute the battens to the crew from inside the trailer. We would quickly spot each batten label and direct the handlers to the appropriate storage unit (they were several yards apart). Eventually, Ty told Amanda to supervise the far unit as it became obvious that battens were being randomly placed.

Battens from Fort Scott transported in trailer.

After watching this circus for about ten minutes, my husband stepped in to supervise the second unit and also carry some bundles. He knew that this would be a big mess to unpack if the battens were paired with the wrong tubes. In the trailer I whispered to him, ”You were told not to help.” He responded, “This is ridiculous and you will never finish if I don’t help.”

However, even with Andrew’s help, this portion of the project was a going extremely slow. The Ready Labor men were getting tired and their pace rapidly diminished. They now slowly ambled back to get each bundle.

It was at this same time that Ty pointed to the general manager, now covered in dirt and sweating a little as he carried a bundle of battens to the far storage unit. Ty grinned and slowly drawled,” Right about now, I bet he’s regrettin’ not havin’ called Ready Labor earlier.” This made me burst out laughing and I agreed. Ty’s timing was perfect as I desperately needed to smile about something.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 26.

Unloading the Truck

We first unloaded the trailer; packing the first storage unit with several large-scale flats, boxes of hand props, five-gallon buckets of whiting, folded floor cloths, the painted cyclorama, a large wooden track for the five small vision drops, stage weights, and a variety of other theatrical artifacts. These items all had to be unloaded in order to reach the wooden battens as they needed to get paired up with the appropriate rolled drops. Due to the late start, it soon became lunchtime.

At lunch, I again discussed the necessary process with the general director. Again, I explained that we really needed a four people to unload the battens and tubes, as I needed to supervise where each item would be placed within the storage units. The general director explained that he would step in and be the fourth individual as it was apparent that no one else from Ready Labor was available. It was going to be difficult task to unload both trucks and I once again wondered why they hadn’t asked a crew of Masons to show up.

We had been planned for this to be a big public relations event; one more thing that would keep the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center on the public’s radar as they anticipated the opening. The Masonic Charities’ Director of Communications and our advertising firm were adamant that this opportunity was crucial to draw positive attention. Our next opportunity would be the unrolling of drops on the stage and beginning the restoration. Yet there was no one there and I wondered whether it was because of the individuals from Ready Labor.

During lunch, I called my husband, explaining that it would be a long day to arrange for childcare that evening. I still suggested that he come down to meet Ty and Amanda from BellaTex, LLC, as I had spoke so highly of them and their company during the past three weeks.

In Fort Scott, I had carefully organized and packed the truck based on the order of future restoration. The last drops to be pulled for restoration were placed in the center of each unit. This allowed us to pull out those on each side, slowly working our way toward the center. As each tube was loaded into the storage unit, two of the four people carrying the unit would break off and go within each unit to help convey the tub along its path.

Unfortunately, during lunch the general director explained that we would be restoring the cathedral scene first as a member was planning a September wedding. This meant that my order of unloading the tubes wouldn’t work and I had to scramble. Initially, the cathedral scene was going to be restored in the second phase of the work and was currently slotted closer to the center of the storage unit. I quickly drew a diagram, labeling each storage unit row with a letter and number – creating a grid so that my crew would know where to place each tube as I shouted out the location. I would shout “A1” or “B5” and each rolled drop would be placed that space.

We returned to the storage unit after lunch and started the slow process of unloading the tubes. Getting the tubes out was difficult at best and I realized that the drops were going to be damaged if this type of handling continued throughout the afternoon. Someone had to get in the truck and I looked at my options.

No one was going to hop up into the truck due to their size. The one worker who was physically able to do this task was also the only one who had the strength to pull to tub, so I climbed into the truck. My task would be to lift each tube and shove it out the pack, just enough for the one man to grab. He would pull and as the tube slid out of the truck, I would refer to my list and shout out the number. So much for me just supervising…

My husband showed up as we were just getting the second tube out of the truck; it was close to 1:30PM. When he saw me in the truck, his expression confirmed what I already knew –this was going to take awhile. “Can I switch out with you and help?” he asked me. But before I could respond, the general director said,” No, Andrew, you’re not covered by insurance. The Ready Labor guys come with insurance.”

So my only replacement went over to visit with Ty and Amanda while we unloaded the drops.

By the fourth tube, I felt the “pop” in my lower spine, that something had just happened to my lower back. The lifting up of each tube and shoving 100 pounds forward was too much for my 5′ 1½” frame. At this point, I felt like flinging myself onto the top of the tubes, curling up in a ball, and crying. Looking at the crew, I realized that the only person who could do my job was my husband- and he had already been told that he couldn’t help.

I had worked so hard to carefully transport the drops, I was damned if I was going to let the general director and his Ready Labor crew damage them now. This was where I made a mistake, I put the handling of the drops ahead of my own safety. I continued to unload the truck, shouting where each tube should go.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 25.

The Final Countdown

My Fort Scott crew loaded all of the drops onto the truck. Each layer of tubes was separated with plastic. My idea was to allow each tube to effortlessly slip into and out if the truck. Each tube weighed about one hundred pounds and need four set of hands to safely carry. Lovingly packed onto the truck, I continued to worry about the unloading process.

Wooden battens loaded before props and set pieces in second truck

In addition to securing a storage unit, the general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center was to secure the labor to unload the truck. We were targeting a Sunday morning departure, with us arriving in Bloomington by the evening. Early that Monday morning, we would unload the trucks at the storage facility. My concern was that there would not be enough labor at the site.

On November 14, I emailed the general director:

“We will need four people to unload the 80 rolls and flats at the

Bloomington storage facility. It will just be the BellaTex driver and myself who arrive at the storage facility. I will not be able to help carry as I will be directing where each tube goes. Rolls weigh about 80-100lbs. Each. We are targeting an arrival on Sunday, but I will be able to provide 24-48 hrs. notice as we get closer. We need individuals that can lift, ideally men.”

I repeatedly requested the general director to contract four men to unload the 25’ tubes from the truck, each weighing approximately 100 pounds. I also explained that we were not only unloading the tubes, but also numerous set pieces, properties, and 13,000 linear feet of wooden battens that would arrive in a second truck.

On Nov 18, 2015, at 1:05 PM I received the following email from the general director:“Wendy, I have things lined up to unload Monday morning. I will be present to supervise the temporary workers. Given the four hour minimum we are doubtful of the need for four workers. I am planning to have two workers on hand.”

This was just a bit too much to handle on top of everything else. Why would he insist on only two laborers for four hours when I specified four laborers for eight hours? Maybe he didn’t understand the weight or the length of the tubes? It made no sense that he would ignore my requests.

I responded to him on the same day at 1:37 PM:

“The tubes are too heavy for two people to carry and load into the rack. There must be a minimum of four people. I cannot be one of the people carrying and placing the tubesPlease be aware that it might take a full day to unload the tubes, battens and other scenery pieces. I will need to supervise the placement of the tubes into the rack as there is a specific order.”

When we arrived that Monday morning there were no individuals from Ready Labor. The general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center immediately suggested that we start unloading the tubes from the truck regardless. He was sure that the individuals from Ready Labor would appear on site soon. The only people on site beside myself were the general director, the owner of BellaTex, LLC (Ty Prewitt) and the executive vice president of operations at BellaTex, LLC (Amanda Zimmerman).

All of us understood the game that was being played and I responded, “No, we’ll wait just for them to show up. Maybe you should call the agency to see why they are late.”

After a few hours, one Ready Labor worker showed up, but he couldn’t stay for the entire day. So we started to unload the props from the first truck. A little while later a second Ready Labor worker appeared and then a third. This was unbelievable and it became obvious that no one had ever been called prior to that morning.

Most of the morning had been wasted and we were now behind schedule. I had worked 240 hours in the past three weeks and had two days off (150 hours more than I was paid during this time period as a staff). I just want to go home and sleep, but that wouldn’t happen due to scheduled meetings for the remainder of the week.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 24.

It’s All in the Details

Our Scottish Rite representative took me out to dinner during the last week of work. It was my time to share some of our discoveries and ask questions before our final departure. I had two options: Chicken Annie’s and Chicken Mary’s. Both were great regional restaurants. We went to chicken Annie’s and had the famous fried chicken dinner. It was a nice break from our standard fair at Sharky’s and the Nu Grill where we had tried every single item on the menus.

I tentatively brought up our miraculous finds from Moses’ temporary studio in 1924. I felt odd about mentioning these treasures. Everything – every historic artifact – was leaving their town and it would all rapidly disappear.

My heart sank as I thought of these undiscovered remnants uncovered well over a year AFTER the June 2014 auction. What else had been up there? I explained our finds to he and his wife at dinner. “Well,” he slowly drawled, “there was an awful lot of stuff up there. You wouldn’t believe the amount of type of things! There were even all of the lights from the old theatre. There was also some sort of odd structure – or a type of big frame with weights!”

“Ah,” I responded as my heart sank. “That would have been the remainder of Thomas Moses’ paint frame …much of it was mostly incorporated into the top wooden battens. I guess that there was some still left.”

A general sense of devastation overcame me as I realized that they had no idea or understanding of what had been thrown out. If only someone, thought to ask, but this happens in so many places. Masonic temples go up for sale and no one has the time a new home for the artifacts. On those final days, they get a dumpster and fill it.

I remembered a similar moment at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center earlier that year with the CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities. He was also the CEO of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Society and Museum. We were discussing the need to catalogue and clean out of the museum prior to the move into the new facility. He wanted to hear that most of the contents were “unworthy” of remaining in their collection. He explained that Dave had just kept a lot of junk.

I had that we should contact the various fraternal organizations to see if they would like artifacts that we wanted to get rid of during this cleaning. “Just get a dumpster – less controversy” had been my directive. I understood his point of view, but couldn’t follow this unethical demand – not as a historian. I flat out refused to place any museum artifacts into a dumpster without seeking out another home for them first. Needless to say, someone else was appointed to go through the artifacts and determine each item’s fate.

It was this same type of thing had happened high above the stage at Fort Scott just prior to the auction. For some, it took too much time to identify the various contents stored in this space and disperse it to appropriate recipients. It was just easier to just throw it all out.

I came back to the conversation about Moses’ paint studio. The original 1904 lighting instruments had found their way to the dumpster, boxes of antique lamps, and a sundry of other “unknown” items. I just smiled politely across the table at my dinner companions understanding that this was just the tip of the iceberg. This was just one of many times when someone would be responsible for disposing the history that was shared between the fraternity and the theatre.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 23.

Drawn to History

One of the last studio discoveries was a number of jumbo charcoal sticks, some used, and some new. An entire box or bag must have dropped into this crack and I saved and every recovered shard. These jumbo sticks were used to draw out the composition for every drop.

In 1929, Moses wrote, “Started my painting on the McAlester job by drawing in the Barins Anti-Chamber…”

Charcoal markings were also found on the backsides of drops too. In scenic studios, they marked the size of drops and their eventual location as they were transferred from the sewing room to the paint studio. Charcoal also listed the subject of specific stock scenes.

I envisioned the beautiful display that could display these artifacts and provide artistic provenance for the collection at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. This was going to be billed as the Thomas Gibbs Moses collection, a Scottish Rite Mason and nationally recognized scenic artist.

We had the primer that formed the basis of the painting, the charcoal sticks that were used to draw the composition, and a detail brush that was used to apply the dry pigment. Furthermore there was the artist’s sweater and Scottish Rite paint cap AND his writings from the diary. I envisioned a lovely display for all to see, one that would draw international audiences. The careful handling of both the scenery and artifacts would be stunning. Restored drops were almost indistinguishable from new ones. It would be like walking into a Scottish Rite theatre during 1924 – but with all of the modern conveniences. Could it get any better than this?

I anticipated the looks of the visitors on the opening day of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. We had just enough time to transport the collection back to Minnesota, restore a few scenes, and hang them for the June 24, 2016 opening! It was going to happen and this was the perfect collection for a heritage center.

I looked to the long-term goal. The restoration of this collection could be a wonderful training ground for students across the state of Minnesota. This was an opportunity to share knowledge about both dry pigment painting and restoration techniques. This might revitalize a trade that was on the verge of extinction.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 22.

Keep it under your hat

Austin immediately found another dust-encrusted piece of fabric after the paint sweater. But this one was a paint cap. It had the same colored dry pigment specks as the sweater and I imagined the paint flying through the air as Moses painted the drop. It suggested the speed at which Moses painted, one of his greatest strengths.

The speed at which scenery was painted reduced the overall labor costs, thus returned the greatest profits to the shareholders. In 1881, Moses had recorded, “The others were able to draw more, because they were better in the artistic end, but I had it over them when it came to speed.” And it was this speed that mattered in both a studio and as a freelance artist.

Upon closer inspection of the little black cap, I noticed the Masonic insignia. This wasn’t simply any painter’s cap, it had a Scottish Rite eagle on it! It was just too much to comprehend and I floated back to the hotel after work. When you receive news that is so absolutely fantastic, there is a moment where you just want to keep it to yourself. I didn’t immediately call my husband, tell my mother, or notify any colleague. For just a day, I savored the discovery with the crew.

(Moses wearing New York)

(Had while painting drop curtain)

(Moses painting landscape in center of studio photo)

(Studio photo)

This was a turning point in my career and I could feel that this was simply the beginning. These artifacts, their discovery, and their further linking Freemasonry with scenic art would continue to expand.

To be continued…