Nelson County Public Library - Bloomfield, KY

Reflection Parlor   7' 6" x 7' 7"

Bloomfield is as one would imagine from its name, a charming little town surrounded by verdant and tidy farmland. The town proper is a small crossroad distinguished by the Victorian stores and buildings which have been lovingly restored and given new purposes. As I made my initial drive here, I saw a pride in community, family farms, land stewardship and an appreciation of shared history everywhere I looked.

The new branch library includes a comfortable reading area where patrons may linger and read. I thought of this area like a Victorian parlor, and treated the wall of windows there as the wall of a parlor would have been decorated.

 My windows create the impression of an illuminated wall hung with glowing portraits. These portraits are done as silhouettes, a technique popular during the Victorian age before the common use of photography, and set in ornate picture frames.

Rendered and inscribed into each of the silhouetted heads and their frames are images and words.  Local food crops and wildflowers, historic events, ghost stories, etc. unique to Bloomfield, as well as quotations from writers appear. Passages from authors, playwrights and poets from many cultures and throughout history, including several from Kentucky, hint at the literary treasures to be found in this local library.

A guide to the quotes and their authors is posted nearby, with a listing of their works which may be found within the collection.