For over a year, I’ve been working on a large-scale project for the Mansion at Strathmore in Bethseda, Maryland. I was asked to be a part of the Paper Works show. My installation, “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat,” is 18 feet long, 12 feet high and 3 feet in depth. In the past, I’ve created booth designs for trade shows and for art shows, but this is the first installation I have ever done out of paper at this size. It has been a new experience and I am excited to share with you some of the steps I went to in order to create a successful installation.

Today’s story begins near the end of my process. The work in my studio is completed, and my installation is about to leave my studio and make its way to the Mansion at Strathmore. Because it is such a large installation, I purposely designed the entire piece in small pieces and manageable sections that will all come together into one large scene. Some of the sections though are still too large to transport in my car, so I had to rent a truck. The largest sections of the piece are 7 feet high by 4 feet wide, though are all lightweight. It may be easier to transport, but there are a whole lot of pieces.

It took a full day of packing to everything ready to go, including extra papers just in case something tears, breaks or creases and needs to be repaired. I used many different types of papers to create the installation so that alone was a lot to take along. I try to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and hope for the very best. I also needed to pack up the tools I use such as glues, scissors, adhesives, and whatever else I could think of that could possibly help me construct the final installation. The Mansion is about 1.5 hours from where I live, so I needed to be prepared because I could just run home.

We loaded most of the truck in the evening and then first thing in the morning, drove to Bethesda where everyone was waiting for us. We had some extra hands to help get everything in place and complete the installation. I was so grateful there were people there to help us unload the truck and to help us to begin installing everything. In total, it took us four days to complete the installation and add all the final details. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes scoop on “Charming Victorian Country Garden Retreat.”