Hey Backers! It's been over a month since my last update, so wanted to fill you in on how things are going with the America At The Seams project!
I formally received funding on 4/18 and spent the last two weeks in April designing and working on the reclaimed wood backing that the 5 foot wide artwork will be mounted on. I purposefully chose old reclaimed wood boards from The Bakery, a co-working space and community of entrepreneurs in Sioux Falls that recently hosted a business incubator program called The Oven that played a key role in propelling this project to where it is today. (See local NBC affiliate news story on The Oven here).
Selecting old floorboards & pallet wood at The Bakery.
After selecting a combination of century old floorboards and pallet wood, I sanded everything down to ensure a smooth, clean surface for staining.
Meet my 3 year old daughter, Nyla, who has been named Director of Quality Control for this project. She comes with little experience and is quite bossy, but she sure brings out the best in me.
After sanding, I secured the vertical wood boards with horizontal 2x4 boards with wood screws from the back and I used a nail gun through the front for extra support.
I went to the local Ace Hardware store and picked out a beautiful maple oil based stain with satin finish.
After 3 coats of stain, I debuted the project's wood mount on May 6th at A League Of Your Own as part of the Downtown Sioux Falls Art & Wine Walk. I spent 4 hours that evening talking with hundreds of people about my baseball artwork and this project. It went really well!
Wood backing reveal in downtown Sioux Falls.
In addition to creating the wood mount, I commissioned a local graphics designer last week to create the t-shirt rewards that many of you selected and hope to have the t-shirt order placed by end of May.
I've also had multiple conversations with a book publisher about providing editorial, graphic design, and printing services related to the 50 stories in 50 states coffee table book coming out after the artwork is complete.
I'll try to send out monthly updates moving forward. In the meantime, please follow my updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Thanks for the support!
PS to Backers - really cool project thank you notes are in the mail. If you don't receive one within the next week, please let me know.