Building on Hope Construction Update

I’ve written before about how much I love working on the the Building on Hope Nashua PAL Youth Safe Haven project. The renovation and big reveal was supposed to happen over a two week period back in May. And, well, you know the story. As with most things in 2020, the original timeline went out the window. The Building on Hope construction is now taking place over a longer period of time to accommodate social distancing. If all goes according to plan (fingers crossed), the project’s big reveal will be in October. So, how are things going?

Here’s an update on the Building on Hope construction!

Construction is under way! Even though the original timeline changed, construction has begun and is making steady progress. The staff at Nashua PAL emptied out and stored supplies and belongings off site. This summer they are doing an amazing job at virtual and distanced programming. The construction crew has completed most of the demo work and progress has been steady. My portion of the project is the lobby, and will be one of the final rooms. So, until that time, I’m holding tight.

What have I been doing in the mean time?

I’ve been spending my time working on custom art and design pieces for the space. First, my favorite custom piece is probably the seat cushions. Last winter, I worked with kids at Nashua PAL to create designs for cushions in the lobby. Our partner, LDI Interiors, printed these patterns on their signature faux leather. They are currently being sewn into cushions. I can not wait for these kids to see their drawings on actual furniture in the lobby!

Next, I created a needle punch series for the lobby. I began by matching the colors in the PAL logo and deconstructing their logo. The logo motifs turned into 4 original pieces. Together they are recognizable as the logo, but not exactly it. (Photos coming soon!)

Lastly, I’ve spent a whole lot of time in my basement working on a large mosaic wall piece. I’ve glued over 30,000 tiny squares in blue and yellow to create a statement piece. From far back, it looks like it’s just the logo. But walk up a little closer and the tiles start to come into focus. I admit, when I had the idea for this mosaic, I planned to be sharing with other people, but was an activity impossible to do from 6 feet apart. A little overwhelming in the beginning, as time went on I grew to love the work. It proved to be meditative, quiet and so satisfying to watch the pattern grow.

What comes next?

There is still a lot of construction happening before the final reveal. If you’re inspired to support this project, you can! You can make a cash donation or you can buy something from this Amazon wishlist. Or, just give me a virtual high five! That also makes me super happy.