After almost two years of researching, planning and looking for a site, Green Roof is a reality and things are starting to fall into place.  A friend of mine took the bold step of purchasing the perfect property, right in the neighborhood I wanted to be in. I moved in in August, 2019, and have been getting this set up. The house is located at 431 South 4th Street in Paducah.  See it on Google Maps here.

Green Roof Culture House

More photos on this post: We’ve Landed!

This house sits on the edge of the oldest African American neighborhood in Paducah and my hope is that good things will happen through the house that will help people improve their homes, generate income through products we will make and integrate this community with other opportunities that are happening around Paducah.  This post shows three videos where art has encouraged community development and sustainable living:  The Basic Vision.

I will use my other creative businesses, Artizan Made and TAFA: The Textile and Fiber Art List to bring international connections to what we are doing.  Making Art Out of Trash shows some ideas of how that can happen.  The top floor of the house is now an airbnb with three themed rooms: Asia, The Americas and Africa. There is community space downstairs and plenty of room outside to grow things, to work and to make our mark.

Unfortunately, the house (built in 1884) has needed several costly updates: heat and air, electric, and plumbing. We would also like to change the flooring upstairs and the windows need glazing. My friend does not have deep pockets so I am asking the community at large to help us get this going. We have not wanted to promote the airbnb too much yet as there is still work to do there, but once it is done, it should bring in regular income that will fund the projects that we do. Meanwhile, can you give a hand?

Melanie Shovelski

This is an example of a hand that has already come in, made by Melanie Shovelski from Wyoming. It is made of felt and will be covered with glass and grouted on to our concrete garage which is going to be a workshop. Each donation is considered to be a spot and you will send artwork that will be embedded on to the outside with beads and other shiny objects in the grout. As you can see, the building needs work and we will need to bring electricity and water to it, too.

Future workshop for Green Roof’s Glass Project and other production.

Ndebele painted house

This post talks about some of the products we can make, including Bottle Bricks: Update 2018.  The shed next to the workshop is going to be decorated in Ndebele style. Something I have dreamed of for a long time!  This property is going to be super artsy fartsy!!

Green Roof will have its own website and all contributors will be showcased there with the donor’s info and links. Right now they are at the bottom of this page. Click on the images and you will see a bit of info for each one. We will make them bigger in the final version.

Give a hand!

Purchase your spot using this button. Each spot is $100. More info and instructions follow below.

If you cannot afford $100, but would like to contribute, you can also donate with the buttons below. We will thank you on our Facebook page with a photo and link of your choice.

Become a monthly supporter for $10/month.

This is an automatic monthly payment through PayPal.

One time donation in any amount:

What’s a spot?

You are reserving a place in the installation that will happen as soon as the weather gets warmer. This will be an ongoing fundraiser until we cover the whole workshop. You will send in artwork that will be embedded on the wall. You can also make a hand out of clay, wood or metal for a dimensional effect.

Size: 8.5″x11″, same size as standard computer paper.  We will purchase glass that has ultra violet protection to help prevent fading.

How it works:

You will send a drawing, photo or artwork with a hand theme. The idea is that visitors to the property will feel a connection with the world by seeing these hands and being able to touch them. There are examples further below.

Inspiration

Susan Gardner Mosaic House, New York

Susan’s story:

NYorkers // Susan Gardner from NYorkers on Vimeo.

The Robins’ Nest Mosaic Family Success Center

This video is a time lapse showing an installation very similar to what I have in mind. Imagine the glass hands surrounded by the tiles…  And, installed by the community!

Learn more about this community center.

Concept

Think of this as your greeting to this community. In the simplest form, you can take a marker and outline your hand on paper.  Color it in. If you want to do a family spot, you can outline each hand and overlap them, coloring in different areas with different colors…

Outlining a hand

Cutting out a handprint

Write a message, add your name and where you live…  Imagine someone placing their hand on yours through the glass… Connecting to faraway places…

Memories in Clay on Etsy

You can do whatever you want, just so it is flat and there is a hand theme. You can have fabric, a collage, watercolors, acrylics, xeroxes, whatever. A second glass piece will include a short message from you with your name and location, installed next to your artwork.

Ceramic artists can press into clay and fire a slab at the correct size. If you want to go all out, Memories in Clay on Etsy can make you a tile with your prints. Just make sure it is the right size for our project.

Size: 8.5×11  A regular computer sheet will work fine as a guide.

Have you ever been to a cemetery and seen old photos embedded into a tombstone? This is the same idea. We will add mosaics and decorative embellishments around the glass and grout it all in. If the church falls through as a purchase, we will create a temporary display of the hand spots to show the support at meetings and gatherings. Once we are settled, the hands will be on display for the community at large.

Reverse Painting on Glass:  If you want to work directly on glass, you can purchase your own glass and decorate it. I made a series of reverse paintings on glass once that was really fun. I glued images directly on to the glass (be careful with air bubbles!) and painted around it. If you do this, make sure you package the glass well so that it doesn’t break when shipped!

When you are ready, send your art to

Rachel Biel at Green Roof Culture House

431 South 4th Street

Paducah, KY 42003

Include a note with a message, any links that you have and your artwork.  We will have an album with all of our donors on our Facebook page, too. You will be notified when it is installed.

I would like to raise $5,000 to cover some of the expenses that the house needs.  Your hand will have a permanent place in this community!  Please share this fundraiser with your people.

Thank you!  Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

Contributors

Many thanks to the contributors to this Fundraiser! Placeholder images will be used until the artwork is sent in.  Click on their images to learn more about each of them.