An art assemblage incorporating COVID-19-era masks and sewing notions was unveiled on Monday, May 12, at the University of Lynchburg’s Drysdale Student Center. It now hangs just outside the doorway of the workout space on the second floor of Drysdale.
The piece, “Sewcial Hornets,” is named for a 2020 initiative of the same name through which more than 9,000 masks were made for the University community by volunteers from all over the world.
The assemblage includes dozens of colorful, cloth masks, along with spools, thimbles, thread, and other sewing-related objects. Red masks and a measuring tape form an “L” for Lynchburg at the center of the piece.
The piece was designed by Lori Elholm ’24, a member of Lynchburg’s housekeeping staff and an avid seamstress. In the spring and summer of 2020, Elholm made more than 500 masks for Sewcial Hornets.
The frame for the 60-by-60-inch assemblage was made by Erin Boder ’25, a biology/pre-PA major and Bonner Leader. Boder made the frame as part of 3D Forms and Space, an art class taught by Assistant Professor of Art Chelsea Tinklenberg.
The class meets at Vector Space, a local workshop and makerspace.
Boder built the ash-wood frame with help from Randy Smith of Hill City Hardwoods, a local lumber mill and woodworking shop.
“He did a lot of the heavy machinery,” Boder said, adding that working with wood was a “completely new project” for her, as she had been working with metal in Tinklenberg’s class. “It’s a different ballpark. … A lot of trial and error, design-wise, before cutting the wood.”
Asked if she thought she’d ever make another frame, she said her “nana” had already commissioned one.
