We are proud to have completed the restoration of Common Threads. This mural, located at Broad and Spring Garden Streets in Philadelphia) was originally painted in 1988. Thanks to everyone who supported the project! The following photos are from the re-dedication ceremony.
MLS Studios recently learned of the passing of our dear friend Buddy West, a valued mural team member from our Millennium Moon mural in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Team members like Mr. West come along “once in a Millennium Moon.”
We love you Buddy!
Really, the Haverhill archives are entirely compelling. That last post was a funny. Meg’s busy discovering historical details about the town, and especially about the legacy of powerful New England women, as evidenced by the town’s sculpture of Hannah Dustin, who brandishes and axe and the scalps of former Abenaki tribe members.
Haverhill is a shoe town. Always has been. The sole/soul of America.
Big day here at the Meg Saligman Corporation. Meg celebrates her birthday. Don’t ask how many candles. We lost count decades ago. Meg continues to work hard, or hardly work, at the Haverhill, Massachusetts archive with trusty assistant James. Shh! Let them sleep.
It was once known for its fine quality shoes, and soon Haverhill will rise to prominence again for a different sort of craft. Meg Saligman is currently in the historic Massachusetts town, laying the groundwork for her newest public work. She’s meeting with town leaders, surveying potential sites, and getting into Haverhill history.
Haverhill is in the northeast corner of the state, close to the New Hampshire border. Aside from its title as the Queen Shoe City of the World, Haverhill boasts the first U.S. public sculpture in honor of a woman.
Current population is close to 60,000. One of its notable inhabitants is musician Rob Zombie.
Common Threads has been restored to its original shining and vibrant glory. At the corner of Broad and Spring Garden Streets, the landmark mural has undergone the process of restoration. The entire massive wall was power washed, scrubbed, touched up and varnished. Here are pictures of the work and the finished masterpiece.
Meg Saligman does not slow down. On the heels of completing The Evolving Face of Nursing, work begins today on the restoration of Philadelphia’s landmark mural, Common Threads, at Broad and Spring Garden Streets.
We’ve got a serious lift that goes a hundred feet in the air, to get to the top reaches of the eight-story high mural. Step one: power wash. Meg, James and Steve are on duty, easing off the city grime that’s collected over 12 years.
The next big thing: Meg Saligman Studios, on behalf of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, is joining forces with LaSalle University’s Voices of Teens: Writers Matter program to create an exceptional work of public art on the exterior of the Philabundance warehouse. Philabundance feeds Philadelphia’s hungry. The visuals and writing for the project will be driven by Philabundance clients and teen writers.
We begin by asking, “What Are You Hungry For?” It’s a public dialogue. We consider the complexities and many dimensions of hunger. We think of vessels that need filling. Images of cupboards, shopping carts, kitchen tables, and even the mind are places that may be cycle through stages of emptiness and fullness.
The piece is dynamic, and the public will be able to manipulate the imagery via electronic media.
Common Threads has been called the world’s greatest mural. It stands at Broad and Spring Garden streets as a Philadelphia landmark and was the city’s largest and most expensive mural of its time. But Common Threads, completed in 1998, is starting to show its age. Check out this before and after comparison:
The eight story high mural is about to get a facelift, lovingly restored to its original brilliance and vibrancy by Meg Saligman Studios. But we need your help! Please donate to the restoration fund by clicking here. And this is important: be sure to indicate in the comments field that your money is meant for Common Threads Restoration.
You know what? We will accept in-kind donations, to include bad jokes, used paintbrushes, old paint covered clothes, gourmet goodies, fine wine, cases of beer, pole dancers, a tankful of gas, performance art, your favorite music, and any other creative suggestion you may have. We’re not picky. We’re artists.