Week 8: Building the Exhibit, Piece by Piece

Planning how to mount the photos
Hello Reader,

This week at the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, I made major progress on the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Exhibit; so much so that the finish line is finally in sight.

Wednesday: Finalizing the Exhibit Items
After last week’s visit from the team at Glen Helen, we had temporarily packed up all of the archival items for the exhibit. On Wednesday, we brought everything back out to finalize exactly which materials would be included in the display. After laying it all out and reviewing the options, we decided on a selection of original and reproduction items that reflect Helen’s personal life, creativity, and legacy. The final group includes a page from one of her photo albums, an original valentine envelope addressed to her father (along with a recreated version of the valentine that was inside), her original handwritten sheet music, a first edition of Capricious Winds, and a copy of the Glen Helen Memorial Collection booklet from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibit Items collected in the exhibit box

We’re also using a table with an open drawer as part of the display. Inside the drawer, we’ll be placing books that Helen owned and read, several of which include her signature inside, along with copies of additional handwritten sheet music. To accompany the physical objects, I designed a small legend system using letter tiles, each item in the case will have a letter next to it, with a key on the side explaining what each object is.

Later that day, I went over to the Education Building to print all of the signage and exhibit photos on cardstock so they could be mounted on black foam board the following day.

Thursday: Mounting and Preparing the Final Pieces

On Thursday, I returned to the Education Building to use their professional-grade paper cutter to trim the cardstock signage and photos to the right size. While I was there, I also helped Katie with a few errands, including cutting purchase cards for artwork that’s currently for sale in the gallery.

Me mounting the cutting the exhibit materials

Back in Katie’s office, I set up a folding table outside to handle the mounting process. I applied adhesive spray to the black foam board, placed the trimmed cardstock onto it, sealed the top, and let it dry. Afterward, I cut the final shapes out with a craft knife. Once everything was cut, Katie reviewed each piece to make sure they were clean and correctly sized. A few needed to be redone due to uneven cuts, so I went back to the Education Building to reprint and fix those.

Mounting -> Drying -> Cutting

Even though Monday isn’t part of my usual schedule, I’ll be coming in to help finish assembling the exhibit. With any luck (and some focused time) I’m hoping we’ll have everything fully installed by Thursday.

More soon,
Maria Formoso

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