C'ville Arts

The day Flat Stanley visited the Seat of Harmony

I remember I was downtown for something and had stopped by the Gallery.  I noticed a woman taking a photograph of something on the bench, but I couldn't see what it was.  When I got closer, I realized it was a very special visitor, Flat Stanley.

From Wikopedia:

Flat Stanley a 1964 children's book by Jeff Brown (1926 – December 3, 2003) and illustrated by Tomi Ungerer. It was the first in a series of books featuring Stanley Lambchop, a completely flat boy.

Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother Arthur are given a big bulletin board by their Dad for putting pictures and posters on. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed, but during the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. But one special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Eventually Arthur, who tires of all the attention Stanley has been getting, reverts Stanley to his proper shape through an air pump used for footballs.

From this book came The Flat Stanley project and how Stanley came to be in Charlottesville.

The photographer, Kimberly, told me that she was tasked with taking her nephew's Flat Stanley to various spots in Virginia.  Following our brief encounter, she sent me this message:

Hi Virginia,

We met last misty weekend on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, while I was taking a photo of "Flat Stanley" on your beautiful mosaic loveseat. You asked me to send you the photo, and I'll attach it to this email. I don't know if you remember my brief description of why I was taking a picture of a paper-flat and crayoned kid on your lovely loveseat...My nephew Skyler sent me this "Flat Stanley" as part of a

class project.  I'll paste Skyler's letter that accompanied this flat fellow below. You can see that pictures aren't necessary--I just thought they would be fun to send his class (for example, I doubt those third graders have ever seen a mosaic couch before). I'll attach some other photos of Stanley's adventures in Amherst and Lynchburg too!

Following is the message that was sent with Stanley when he was mailed to a friend…

 Dear Friend,

I am a third grade student at C.A. Dwyer School in Rockaway, New Jersey, USA. Our class has just finished reading the story, Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown. In the story, Stanley (after being flattened) is placed in an envelope and mailed to California to visit a friend.

 

As a way to help our third grade class learn more about the world around us, we are sending "Flat Stanley" out to explore the world. With your help, we can learn more about many different places. Here's how you can help us:

 

1. Please send a postcard, picture, or a short note telling us a little about the place you live and are visiting. This can be mailed to : C.A. Dwyer School, 665 Mt. Hope Avenue, Wharton NJ 07885, Attn: Mrs. Parisi and Skyler Falt (3B)

 

2. Then send Stanley and this letter on to a friend or a relative who would be willing to do the same thing.

 

3. If you receive Stanley during the month of May, please return him to me as soon as possible. (My class will be planning a welcome home party for Stanley, and we will eagerly be awaiting his arrival!)

 

The more Stanley gets passed around, the more my classmates and I will learn about the world. We will be keeping track of Stanley's travels on our class map, as mail arrives. Thank you for helping us with this fun project! Enjoy your time with Stanley, and we look forward to hearing from you.

 

Fondly,

 

Skyler Falt

Rockaway, New Jersey

USA

How lucky was that that I happened be there that day!

 

How and why the sculpture was created

I wanted to create something for outside of the gallery that would attract attention to C'ville Arts' space on the downtown Mall.  At first, I was thinking "bench", you know, flat seat with a couple of legs underneath. But then, as we approached the 10th anniversary of the cooperative, and the artists started talking about changing the name of the gallery, painting the building, making new signs, etc., and I watched an incredibly diverse group of artists come together and make good, solid decisions, I thought, “a bench just isn’t enough”.  As I sketched and planned, I started thinking in terms of an old, comfy sofa, and I wanted the piece to say something about the cooperative nature of the group.

Once I had settled on the design, I needed to determine the means of fabrication, and sculpted polystyrene was the best choice.  The loveseat actually began with sheets of foam insulation.

I laminated these into blocks, which were then combined and sculpted.  Below, the loveseat in raw foam, and then after the first layer of mesh.

    

Then I applied two coats of mesh & concrete, and I was ready to wrap it in plastic to let it cure for a while.

While the piece was curing, I gathered together my materials.  I asked artists from the cooperative to contribute small personal objects, which I then incorporated into the design, representing the cooperative nature of the co-op. You'll see diverse materials scattered throughout the piece, and those are their objects. Some of the artists work in glass, and so there are a number of fused glass pieces. Another artist works in pewter, and she provided me with the most wonderful dragonflies and cats. A painter even provided me with tiny reproductions of her work under clear glass that I could place throughout the piece.

If the artist's work wasn't appropriate for outdoor work, they brought me personal objects such as belt buckles and broaches. One of our potters, Barbara Albert, produces high-fire work & and she provided me with a box full of seconds that I cut up to use for the clouds.

I also purchased letters from another potter and have inset them into the piece... the letters "cville arts" are placed between the rays of the sun.

Otherwise, the materials are various types of glass tile, either purchased as tile and used whole or cut into tiles from sheets of stained glass.  Also, there are ceramic tiles.

  

The basis of the design are the elements of Feng Shui (Water, Earth, Fire, Wood, and Metal) symbolically representing the harmonious nature of this group of artists.  Feng Shui can be described as the natural path with the least resistance; the practice of Feng Shui is about creating harmony within our environment.

Following are WIP photos taken during and following the first several sessions of applying the mosaic.

At this point, I was staring my deadline head on, and I worked pretty-much non-stop, it seems. I had to stop applying mosaic to cut more glass several times, and then there was the issue of creating the security device for the sculpture. 

Aside from some last-minute cleanup work, I completed the project at midnight, December 6th, 8 1/2 hours before the piece was scheduled to be picked up for delivery at the gallery.

 

 

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS!

It has been great fun watching people try to walk by the Gallery and then find themselves lounging on the loveseat. Often, photos are taken, and I've been collecting them when possible for the past couple of years. Finally, I have posted this blog, and now I want your photos! Send them to me, and I'll add them to the slideshow.

Just drop me an email message with the photograph, your name and the date of your visit. If you are located out of the Charlottesville area, I would love to know from where, so let me know that too.

HERE'S THE EMAIL ADDRESS!
P.S. This blog has been posted in June 2010. I will be posting the story of the loveseat, how it was made, and then I'll be putting names to some faces as time goes on. So, check back often!