Four mosaic quilts designed by Carol Hemsley and Carol Stirton-Broad for the lobby of Francis House.
I recently had the pleasure of a conversational interview with Carol Hemsley and Carol Stirton-Broad. They are longtime friends, founding members of the Mosaic Society of Philadelphia (MSoP), and epic collaborators. We talked about their most recent project - four fantastic mosaic panels installed in the lobby of Francis House. Located on the campus of St. Ignatius Nursing & Rehab Center in West Philadelphia, Francis House is a 60-unit facility administered by the Felician Franciscan Sisters. Francis House is a new facility and quite beautiful. It offers neighborhood-style studio apartments, common kitchens, and community rooms on each floor for low-income seniors requiring personal care services. Francis House needed artwork to fill two 10′ X 10′ spaces above the resident’s mailboxes in the lobby, and that is where Carol and Carol got involved.
Both Carols have extensive backgrounds in art, albeit in different forms; and both agree that is useful. Carol S-B. says this gives them “shared knowledge and two different approaches. We bring out the best in each other.” They originally met at the Main Line Art Center, in Haverford, PA. Carol H. was a frequent student in mosaic classes taught by Carol S-B. Each is a mosaic educator and lifelong learner, agreeing that being a student is just as important as being a teacher because they are always learning. Carol S-B., with a twinkle in her eye and looking sideways at Carol H., said “Every project is a learning experience and that's why we do a lot of them.” Carol H. smiled demurely. Their secret is that while the Francis House project was a great success and offered a lot of learning, it was also an enormous undertaking and a heartfelt experience.
In the beginning. . .
In August 2020, Carol H. was contacted by Francis House. They asked if she had mosaic artwork for sale that would fill the two large spaces in their lobby. Carol laughed and said, “I didn’t have artwork to fill two 10′ X 10′ spaces just laying around to sell!” Upon contacting Francis House, she began the process of finding out what was wanted and what could be done. She knew it would make a good community project right away, and Francis House was interested. “Then, I talked to Carol S-B.” Who immediately added, “I knew she was going to talk me into it. . .and I was glad I did it. It was fun.” Together they went to Francis House to look at the space.
Greg and Joe from County Line Construction proudly installed the quilt panels in the lobby of Francis House.
Since this was during COVID, no one was using each floor’s community room. The building’s beige-colored lobby, with mailboxes, blank walls, and a door looking out to the parking lot was a better option for social distancing. Residents could hang out in the lobby and keep track of who was coming and going, but the walls really needed some color. Realizing everyone depended on this bland space for a break from COVID, both Carols knew in their hearts they had to take on the project. Carol H. added that Francis House wasn’t going to be able to commission a mosaic with the budget they had, thus a community project for Francis House was born.
Planning the mosaic. . .
Four mosaic panels were planned. Carol and Carol were given free rein to decide what each would depict. Carol H. described their design goal as creating something to “brighten the space and make it feel more like home.” Talking about their design process was very energizing. Carol H. said, “We started to think about what felt like home, and what makes someone feel like they are at home. Quilts of course were one thing. There's a lot of history in quilts” After some research, the duo liked the quilt idea even more. “We thought we could modernize it a little with street scenes from West Philly, and mementos that worked for both men and women.” Carol S-B. concurred and happily added, “That explains it perfectly! To take things from outside and bring them inside.” Carol H. began describing the individual mosaic quilt squares, “Normal stuff. Things you would see if you were sitting on your front porch.” Carol S-B. added, “Squirrels, pigeons, dandelions, retro cars, or a white panel truck. Just things that you would have seen on the street.” “Right!” agreed Carol H. Added to these scenes of everyday life in Philadelphia were a few iconic squares chosen from well-known quilting patterns. Carol S-B. explained that those squares “could be easily made in mosaic, and recognized by someone who might have come from a quilting background and could have seen them in their family.” Francis House loved the idea, and Carol and Carol began developing the quilt squares. Everything they planned was well received by the Francis House administration and residents. The only suggestion for alterations came from some of the men, who wanted more flowers in the final design. Carol S-B. said, “If that’s what they want, then more flowers it is!”
Volunteers worked on many of the individual quilt squares.
Tackling the big stuff first. . .
Carol S-B. is a veteran of more than 20 endeavors like Francis House, and she felt it was important to share something about the costs involved because mosaic artists often don’t realize what to expect when they take on a large project. She said, “Substrate and installation were unexpectedly expensive.” Her initial quote for the substrate was $4000, and that was too expensive. Luckily, Carol H. had a family connection with County Line Construction, in Newtown Square, PA and they agreed to offer materials at their cost of $1900 and donate all the labor involved, which turned out to be a lot. Carol S-B. said, “Any problem with installation was worked out before we did the mosaic.” After consulting with County Line, it was agreed to use wooden frames for the panels. Although Wedi Board was considered at first, the contractors explained how the weight of each panel changed the specifications for its use.
All four frames were built and brought to Francis House for measurements and to check the hanging system. Two rows of French Cleats were used. Thus, the heavy panels hung high up on the walls, would be very secure. As an additional benefit, the mosaics could be taken down if needed. Carol S-B. mentioned that this gave the mosaic quilts a chance to survive the building. “I’ve put mosaics in buildings that are no longer used for what the mosaic was for. In fact, some of those buildings have closed. Those buildings are locked, and no one will ever see those mosaics again.” That is something any artist would be sad to think about. When the frames were finished, County Line brought them back to Francis House ready for the individual quilt squares to be added. Their expertise was a big win for the project.
Carol Hemsley working at Main Line Art Center to assemble packets of materials for volunteers.
Designing and organizing. . .
Both Carols designed the individual quilt squares for the four large panels. Carol S-B. said, “There were parts that were very collaborative, and parts that were separated, and then there were parts that came back together again to be collaborative.” Each took photographs, researched ideas on the Internet, made drawings, and digitally manipulated their artwork for the final versions. Knowing that volunteers would be helping to mosaic the squares, they made sure every design could accommodate each artist’s technique.
Choosing the color scheme for each square was also part of the design process. Noting that their working relationship sometimes resembled the style of traditional cartoonists, Carol S-B. said, “Carol H. did most of the drawing and I did most of the coloring.” She explained that the colors were chosen so there would be uniformity throughout the grid of each quilt. Carol H. added that limiting the colors helped keep costs down for any tiles needing to be purchased. Also offsetting the cost of tiles were donations. In-kind donations of tile came directly from members of MSoP and members of Main Line Art Center. She said, “We got very lucky with donations. We had one large donation and a lot of smaller ones that really got us through. We did have to purchase some tile and some other supplies, but the donations were a huge, huge help.”
Everyone who mosaiced a quilt square received their supplies in packets. Each packet was carefully planned and individually made. Carol S-B. said, “They took a very long time to create.” From bottom to top, they consisted of layers – a cardboard square, the design printed on paper, clear plastic to lay on top of the design and mesh to build the mosaic on. Packets also contained tesserae and a color scheme for volunteers to follow. Carol H. said, “It was kind of a paint by numbers.” She fondly recalled Mother’s Day 2022 saying, “My son came to visit me and helped me. I would be designing and printing and he would be making the packets. We had a little assembly line going. That was his Mother’s Day gift to me.”
Building a community around it. . .
The first realization of the community that the Francis House project would generate came with the donation of workspace. Without any hesitation, Main Line Art Center donated four full days of workspace, simply because Carol S-B. asked them to be part of the cause. Volunteers signed up for a time slot to come and mosaic, sometimes handing off what they were working on to the next incoming volunteer. Carol S-B. said, “That’s a tremendous act of trust.” Carol H. agreed and added, “That’s hard to do.” Both agreed it was a very cool system.
Volunteers working together on the individual quilt squares at Main Line Art Center and at a Mosaic Society of Philadelphia meeting.
Perkins Art Center, in Collingswood, NJ also donated workspace. Veronica Kairos, President and Communications Coordinator for MSoP, and a teacher at Perkins, kindly welcomed the Carols to one of her mosaic classes. Students who wanted to volunteer their class time worked on the project. One of the students surprised both Carols with how fast she was able to complete a square depicting a dog. Carol S-B. said, “I had never seen anybody work that fast. She made the entire dog with a lot of tiny pieces.” Both Carols agreed it was beautiful. Other volunteers mosaicking quilt squares for the panels included students in Carol H.’s summer classes taught in Cape Cod, individual members of MSoP, and even a few Francis House staff members. Every volunteer, no matter what else was going on in their life, returned a finished quilt square before the deadline; and each one was beautiful. Carol S-B. reflected warmly on the people that came together to work on the project. “They gave their time, skills, materials, and heart. Each person brought their best to it. This was people’s best of everything coming forward.”
Assembling the quilts. . .
The final work was all done on-site. Carol and Carol stacked the finished quilt squares in boxes and containers and brought them to Francis House. There was a total of 70 squares made by volunteers and more made by each Carol. Carol S-B. said, “We peeled the plastic off, trimmed the mesh, glued it to the substrate, and grouted.” The staff and residents of Francis House became very interested in the mosaic activity going on in their lobby. Originally, the Carols wanted to have the residents help during this final stage, but it just did not work out. However, everyone enjoyed the process. Carol S-B. said, “They chatted with us. They talked, watched, took pictures, and told their children about it. There was a lot of conversation about mosaics and Francis House, but they didn’t touch it so much. We wanted them to touch it, but they wouldn’t; they were afraid.”
A surprise mosaic workshop for staff and residents of Francis House was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Quilt squares mosaicked at the workshop for staff and residents.
In September 2022, after three weeks of on-site labor, with both Carols working four full days per week, the project was finally finished. Just in time for the four quilts to be highlighted during a gala planned for the Nursing & Rehab Center. As luck would have it, there was also enough time and material left to host a mosaic workshop for the staff and residents of Francis House! What a great way to celebrate the murals with those who inspired it. Carol and Carol’s clever impromptu idea was a big hit and the perfect ending to a project well done. Each person mosaicked a square of their own, using designs that were part of the four finished quilts. Now they each have their own piece of the project for their rooms. Carol H. said, “Everyone was happy. It was our way of getting them more involved and having them feel a little ownership.” Carol S-B. said it is one of her favorite memories from the project, “I was verklempt, they were verklempt, we were all verklempt.”
Project management. . .
When gazing at the mosaic quilts hanging on the walls, it’s easy to forget how much went into making them. Carol H. says, “It looks easy.” Carol S-B. sagely added, “That’s the skill.” She means the skill of project management, and indeed it is a skill. The entire project took more than a year to complete and early on it was apparent that project management would be the key to its success. Carol H. said, “The preparation was really the major deal. The thinking through each step. That’s what really made it go smoothly.” Carol S-B. pointed out that a lot of time was spent communicating with the volunteers and keeping track of the packets. In total, the Francis House project compiled 900 hundred hours of work. That is 300 volunteer hours, 300 hours for Carol S-B., and 300 hours for Carol H. Carol S-B. said, “It was a marathon project,” and Carol H. added, “It was more time than I anticipated it would be.” Both Carols share a well-deserved sense of accomplishment. A satisfied Carol S-B. added, “We kept all the plates in the air.”
A heartfelt experience. . .
The human connection with everyone involved in the project is a big takeaway for both Carols. Carol S-B. warmly recalled that in the beginning, the residents were skeptical when she and Carol H. arrived in the building. But, by the time the four mosaic quilts were unveiled, the residents felt like they were 100% part of the project; openly assessing how “good it looked.” Carol H. enjoyed listening in as they shared their honest opinions with each other about which square they liked best.
The Carols also feel very connected with, and grateful for, their partners, donors, and volunteers. A thank you plaque, hung on the wall near the quilts, lists all those involved. Just as important, both Carols thanked each other. Having a partner, you can trust and rely on is truly something to celebrate. Carol H. summed up the Francis House project perfectly by saying, “There are so many great people around us.”
Carol Stirton-Broad and Carol Hemsley grouting the mosaic quilts on-site at Francis House.