Installation Process

As the time neared to begin my installation, I had a total of 7 boxes: Sam, my self-portrait, Hunter, Ian, Janice, Scott, Hannah. I eliminated Sam and Ian, because his box wasn't quite finished. This left me with a total of 5, which is the number Kelly was expecting for my final pieces. I worked with Dan, Kelly and Kaitlin for several hours on Saturday, May 10. I did some last minute sanding to make the wood and resin more smooth. We discussed the arrangement of all the boxes. The image I had in my mind was that they should be hung in an assymetrical manner instead of marching in a row. I wanted them to look like they were floating in the air. After some discussion, we came up with a plan for the final day--Sunday, May 11.

The original plan Dan ad Kelly came up with to hang my boxes was to have D-rings attached to each side of the back of my boxes, with an added eyelet at the top to thread the wire through...so they would hang straight and not tilt. The rings were already on and ready to go, but Dan had a better idea---one that was simplified. On Sunday, he had Kelly and Kaitlin drill 2 little holes in the top of each box and screw in an eyelet in each hole. They had to be spaced perfectly apart. Then wire was wrapped around each eyelet and attached to the ledge at the top of the window. Small adjustments were made (using a level) in the wire so that the boxes hung straight and didn't tilt to one side. I loved the idea Kelly and Kaitlin had to hang the two boxes on the right window in tandem. Scott was at the top and Hannah was connected by wire on the bottom. It was a creative solution to display the two together, I thought. Finally, I thought the distance the boxes were from the window--about 2-3" was absolutely perfect! Dan put some temporary cardboard behind the boxes so they wouldn't bump the window as I quickly oiled the walnut frames because they were looking a little chalky and dry. He thought teak oil would be better than varnish for the finish.

One last minor change is that I decided to follow the recommendation of the professional gallery staff to leave off the walnut trim I had purchased and planned to add at the final stage to cover the edge of the plexi-glass. They thought it looked just fine and with the way the light shone through the center of the boxes. The edges were not noticeable at all and it looked simple and clean the way it was...