Two recently completed public art projects in Thomas help accent the already evident art community and vibrancy of the town.
This past spring, New Historic Thomas put a call out proposals for public art projects in Thomas. The board chose to award Nellie Davis and Nathan Baker funds to undertake their ideas for art projects in a community setting.
New Historic Thomas Executive Director Emily Wilson-Hauger helped garner the funds for the projects. The funds came from different sources, including New Historic Thomas discretionary funds, a grant from the Tucker County Cultural District Authority, and a New Historic Thomas sub-grant from a USDA Rural Community Development Initiative grant distributed by the Randolph County Housing Authority.
Davis’ project is on display right when you drive into town. The idea for the project began when Davis noticed an unseemly structure on Spruce Street and visualized a canvas. “I’ve called it ‘the building,’ but it is really ‘the shed,’ maybe,” Davis laughed.
John Bright, the owner of the Purple Fiddle, owns the building that Davis spruced up and turned into a visual pleaser.
This large-scale, painted art project was the first of its kind Davis tackled. Davis’ primary art form is textiles. Although certain individuals in the art community would castigate the base color of the shed, Davis used the base as an ideal platform for her design. “It’s pretty inspiring to me to have a blank canvas that is that color,” she said.
The square pattern that adorns the building is influenced by one of her favorite textile designs. Black outlines frame each square, and within are about 12 different colors.
The design has a sense of pattern, without truly holding one. “I don’t plan things out so that it leaves room for the pattern to look and feel random,” Davis said. Squares are almost the same sizes, and almost symmetrically aligned. Each color that fills the squares has two tones per color, again, giving the design a semblance of a pattern.
Davis received help from two AmeriCorps volunteers, extremely expediting the project.
On the other side river in town is Baker’s project, Moon Pool. While Davis’ art is hard to miss when driving into Thomas, Baker’s project is slightly more removed. “The spot was this perfect fringe location, it’s still kind of enveloped by the highway, but you can also get away from it and hear the water going over the spillway, and observe town,” Baker said.
Moon Pool is a four-sided structure about 10 feet tall and five feet wide. It is entirely made of concrete and supporting steel. Baker built a plywood cast and pored the concrete in. A crane lifted and placed the top of the structure. “I had never done anything quite like this before, so this was a bit of a leap of faith to see if I could pull it off,” Baker said.
On top of the structure is a perfectly circular pool, and directly underneath, mounted to the ceiling, is a mirror. “With visual reflection, it gives a chance to re-see the world that we are always in,” Baker said. About 50 feet up the hillside from the structure is a bench Baker made that provides a stunning view of the reflective pool and Thomas.
To get to Moon Pool, park at the back of Thomas City Park near the pavilion, and follow the trail that leads you under the Rt. 219 Bridge. New Historic Thomas has a plan, titled Riverfront Park Redevelopment, which will connect Front Street to the other side of the river with a footbridge. Baker hopes his installation will help bolster the interest in connecting the two sides of the river.
To view more of Davis’ art, visit Lamplight Gallery in Thomas. Baker’s art is on display at White Room Art Gallery in Thomas.
While this article may give you a mental image of these beautiful pieces, for the best description of these projects, go see them.
