McKibbon Hospitality Hotel Installation – Hampton Inn, Avion Park, Tampa, Florida
Installed in the hotel lobby, meeting rooms and dinning area of Hampton Inn Avion Park, Tampa, Florida. The corporate art buyers sought images depicting aviation and Tampa Bay landmarks.
A series of artwork created in a vintage travel style was selected and printed on birch wood panels and framed in large molding. The pieces were from a body of work called “Tampa Relics Collection,” a series that is permanently displayed at Tampa Bay History Center – a Smithsonian affiliate museum.
Art to Inspire the Hungry and Homeless
I had an opportunity for a unique commission in early 2013: To create artwork for the interior the newly constructed Trinity Cafe. The non-profit restaurant serves a high quality meal to the homeless and hungry in the community. Since 2001 they have served over 1,300,000 meals.
Artwork measuring 5 feet x 12 feet was executed in a contemporary style utilizing a pattern of colored circles. From a short distance the circles reveal to the viewer images of three powerful human rights icons – They now dine under the gaze of Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Interspersed within the design are larger circles displaying quotes to inspire and encourage the cafe guests, all of whom are struggling, unemployed and/or living on the streets.
Tim led a Group of Volunteers to Build a Rosary Prayer Garden at a Remote Honduran Orphanage
Tim led group of 22 volunteer workers on trip to a remote site location in Honduras, on the edge of the rainforest, to build an outdoor “Capilla” (chapel) and prayer garden in one week at an orphanage. Volunteers were from all walks – not artists. Extensive research into the Rosary was required for accuracy. The project was blessed and sanctified by a priest at a ceremony held at end of week. Tim performed these roles as artist and leader:
- Planned and coordinated the project. Planning time: 8 months
Purchased supplies in country and in U.S. – Coordinated international transport - Designed the liturgical cast glass artwork placed in the walls of the Capilla
- Sculpted positives, made molds and cast sculptures in colored glass
- Oversaw volunteers and local labor in the building of the structure
- Planned and engineered the hardware and construction of a pergola
- Cast pedestal and wall tops in concrete on site
- Collected local river stones along with children of the orphanage – stones were incorporated into the structure’s design
- Refurbished a sculpture of the Virgin Mary during the one week construction period, largely at night – sculpture was placed in the Capilla at the end of the week in a ceremony, as the Capilla was blessed by a local priest.
Additionally, the project involved a great deal of improvisation, as it was in very rural area of Honduras, more than 3 hours from the nearest major city. Many on site decisions required due to supply issues in third world country.
Medium: Cast glass sculptures, metal and terrazzo, masonry and wood
A Tombstone in my Luggage
When the plane piloted by the founder of a Honduran orphanage crashed in Honduras, he left an unfinished mission. Those mourning the 36 year-old Vincent Pescatore included the scores of Latin American men and women he served, and orphaned and abandoned children who found a home, education, and healthcare at Farm of the Child, an orphanage he founded.
A few years after this tragedy, I became involved with the Farm of the Child, first as a creative volunteer producing fundraising appeals, newsletters, a Web site and documentary videos, and now I am proud to serve as a U.S. board member. I have created several art installations at the campus.
Vincent was reburied in the church located at the orphanage. I was honored to complete his tomb.
I designed artwork and created a sculpture. It was cut by water jet from a metal plate and color -filled with colored stones, marble fragments and epoxy. The artwork depicts a dove in flight over Honduran mountains and palms, a design that is indicative of this remote and beautiful region.
I traveled to Honduras and completed the mosaic tile work onsite and hand carried art panel on international flight and on six-hour drive from San Pedro Sula, Honduras to the remote location on the Caribbean coast. The finishing element was an inscribed granite tombstone, which I checked as luggage on the international flight. Not a run-of-the mill project, but one of the most inspiring I’ve ever undertaken.
- Designed concept and production art
- Interactions with widow and board of directors
- Conversion to CAD/CNC for metal water jet cutting
- Fabrication in Tampa, Florida
- All production planning and logistics
- Improvised on site due to availability of materials in a third world country
Medium: Waterjetted metal and terrazzo, sandblasted marble and mosaic tile
Tampa Landmark Series- Downtown Tampa
The Tampa Landmark Series display on Franklin Street is a celebration of Tampa’s history and future. The artwork of six city icons is produced in a graphic style inspired by travel posters, cigar art, and fruit crate labels, all important parts of Tampa’s rich history.
The downtown Tampa icons selected included the University of Tampa with the distinctive minarets, Old City Hall as viewed from above Lykes Gaslight Park, an imaginative depiction of Tampa Theatre, the beautiful Floridan Hotel, the soon to be completed Tampa Riverwalk, and the Port of Tampa.
In addition to the display of the Landmark Series along Franklin Street, across from the USF CAMLS facility, the artwork appears all over downtown Tampa as images decorating streetlight signal boxes.
Medium: Digital and hand-drawn artwork.
© Tim Boatright