So while I flounder in the wasteland of trying to find the right contractor and budget, I still want to have our building serve some purpose. Thankfully, one of my neighbors put me in touch with Scott Jarrett, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He stages art installations in vacant buildings and was (and is always) looking for a site to display art using whatever salvage is on site. I meet Scott and find a delightfully enthusiastic young man who I know will show up and treat the building with love and care.

Scott is very passionate about art, buildings and how they reflect and inhabit neighborhoods. Originally from the south, he’s a grad student that just arrived here fall 2008.

Scott built his installation with the salvaged wood we’ve recovered from other demolitions nearby. These materials from the installation will come full circle when they are once again used in the building’s transformation into the Logan Square Kitchen. Our project is registered with the US Green Building Council, and will be seeking a LEED gold certification. LEED has four levels: certified, silver, gold and platium. If I win the powerball, I’ll go for platinum. Otherwise, gold is all we can afford.

Here are some photos of Scott’s installation; I loved how he developed a path, winding down the space into the horizon. It’s quite a metaphor for the journey of developing this place, and he did it without a word of input from me: