OUR SPACE BEFORE
Nothing speaks of creative artistry more than James Cameron’s Avatar. This became our very ambitious theme for an exhibit at The Next Cool Thing event. Rather than copy the mega-blockbuster movie, the concept was to create an “Avatarization” of Atlanta. It soon became known as “Avatlanta.” Who wouldn’t want to travel to the magnificent land of Pandora? We decided to present a living room that might be found in this fascinating world. To create the illusion, there needed to be a blending of both 2 and 3 dimensional elements. Here is the result. . .
COMPLETED EXHIBIT
Here are the 8 elements that made it come to life:
1) The mural. A beautiful room begins with a beautiful view. A huge 10 foot by 20 foot canvas mural stretched on a curved wall offered the perspective of a vast vista for the background. Details were carefully scaled and designed by muralist, Megan McKeithan to give the illusion of looking over the edge of one of the Hallelujah floating mountains. Familiar landmarks of Atlanta were incorporated like the King and Queen building of Perimeter Center and the Chattahoochee River.
2) Dimensional Branch. The transition to a 3 dimensional experience began with a textured faux tree branch on the mural. This element was complete with the appearance of twisted bark and knots. It was fitted into the mural at the studio but actually attached when we arrived at the exhibit space. As a final touch, moss and botanicals were added for even more dimension.
3) The path. The exhibit space had concrete floors. Large stepping stones were created on pieces of laminate. Additional shadowing was incorporated for the illusion that they were dimensional. This provided a durable path to lead visitors through the environment.
4) Custom Furniture. Rafael Fernandez of Upholstery House Plus designed and created innovative furnishings that were consistent with the theme. Once fabrics were selected for the seating, the details of the color scheme were fine tuned. He also fabricated the graceful leaf table that was finished in textured bronze to compliment the trim on the chairs.
5) 3D Leaves. The innovative craftsmen of Malone’s Design and Fabrication assisted with more of the custom 3D elements. The basic concept was, “If they can build it, we can paint it!” The large graceful leaves brilliantly set the scale for the exhibit and camouflaged support columns in the front of the space. Special touches were added to each of these 49 leaves (some over 5 feet long). Three colors of reflective texture were tinted and blended to replicate the colors of the seating. They had the appearance of shimmering silk that everyone wanted to touch.
6) Flying dragon. Malone’s talented sculptor, Frank Yokulan, was also responsible for the hanging mountains, the illuminated fiberglass cypress knees and the flying banshee that came to be known as “Fred”. This element made a dramatic entrance as it broke through the picture plane of the mural into the exhibit. The 3D and 2D elements of Fred were painted to combine an effect that every visitor wanted to examine. Mounted on a fulcrum behind the wall, it came to life as his head moved in the breeze.
7) Foliage. Anything that sat still long enough was fair game to be painted! Andy Schwartz of Labs Inc. provided all of the foliage and custom flowers. This was the finishing touch that gave the appearance of an exotic tropical forest. He graciously allowed me to scavenge through his warehouse to create fantasy flora and fauna. Armed with cans of spray paint, metallics, multiple colors of interference and plenty of hot glue, my mission was to use parts and pieces of botanicals to create fantasy flowers that would only be possible on Pandora.
8) Floating seed pods. Paint brushes and trowels aside, what would Avatlanta be without those mystical seed pods from the tree of souls? Simple elements were engineered and assembled in a not-so-simple way. The process took over my dining room! Illuminated with fiber optics, over 200 of these wonderful little creatures floated gently throughout the space. Catch one if you can!
I have never worked so hard but had so much fun. We had an incredibly talented team. It was an opportunity to utilize our skills and travel beyond what we are traditionally asked to do for our clients. Imagine what we can create for YOUR special projects like a theater room, wine cellar or play area? My mind is already exploding with ideas for next year’s event! But for now, all elements of Avatlanta are safely stored and available for purchase. Contact me for more information. 770 777 7020
My Partners:
Megan McKeithan of Visionary Mural Co. www.VisionaryMuralCo.com
Rafael Fernandez of Upholstery House & Plus www.upholsteryhouseplus.com
Andy Schwartz of LABS, Inc. botanicals www.labsinc.com
Frank Yoculan and Geoff Markiton of Malone Design/Fabrication www.maloneinc.com
Special thanks to Barbara English of To The Trade Only www.tothetradeonly.com for creating and organizing The Next Cool Thing. For more information about this event visit: http://www.nextcoolthingevent.com/