WISH YOU WERE HERE: MEDFIELD state hospital
when i was a kid in the 90’s, we didn’t have money for family vacations. our tradition was to take a day trip to places we could reach by car with a few pit stops along the way. we would take our 1979 sunset-stripped bronco up to lake tahoe to ski - long before the icon pass, and long before a day in the snow cost a months rent. we would spend the day at the santa cruz beach boardwalk walking the pier and sitting in the sand. i dont know when it clicked that the experiences that make the best memories are the accidental roadside finds. the surprises you find on a map. the store you wander into in a new-to-you place.
in 2021, we had all been couped up for far too long. i had a passport with a single stamp in it. i hadn’t been to the east coast outside of a week long job in new york. i had always been afraid to go somewhere without company. my therapist challenged me to take a trip by myself and i love a challenge.
i grew up on a street that heavily celebrated halloween. the decorated houses, kids everywhere trick or treating, and the town cemetary was at the end of our street. it wasn’t quite what you see in movies, but i was sure that a new england halloween was. i got to planning. i would fly into boston, spend a few days in salem, visit new hampshire and maine, make my way back to boston to pick up my best friend from the airport and spend halloween together in salem. we went as handmaids.
springfield hosts a dr. suess exhibit so one rainy morning i headed over to experience childhood all over again. it was a pretty quick visit - i realized this would be so much more fun with kids in tow. i had the afternoon free. i opened the map to see what was between springfield and BOSTON AND THE MEDFIELD STATE HOSPITAL STOOD OUT. I DID SOME QUICK POCKET COMPUTER RESEARCH AND DECIDED THAT WAS THE NEXT STOP.
THE VIEWS ON THE DRIVE WERE IMMACULATE. WE DON’T REALLY HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF SEASONS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND UNFORTUNATELY THE LITTER IN THE GUTTERS DONT CHANGE COLORS TO SIGNAL THE CHANGES. WHEN I PULLED UP TO THE DIRT LOT TO THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY I GOT KIND OF EXCITED AND NERVOUS. I WAS BY MYSELF IN MEDFIELD, MASS. AT A BOARDED UP STATE HOSPITAL. I LIVE FOR THE MACABRE, SO I was ON AN ADVENTURE. I DOCUMENTED THE EXPERIENCE IN THE VIDEOS BELOW. I HAVE SINCE HEARD THERE ARE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS BEING HELD ON THE GROUNDS WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO REUSE THIS LANDSCAPE. ITS BEEN FIVE YEARS SINCE I VISITED AND THIS UNEXPECTED STOP WAS QUITE A HIGHLIGHT OF THIS TRIP.
WHEN AN EXPERIENCE STICKS WITH YOU, I THINK THE BEST WAY TO PROCESS AND SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE IS NOT ONLY THE STORIES, BUT MAKING ART ABOUT IT. I WANTED TO TRY SOME TECHNIQUES WHILE MAKING A glass art REPRESENTATION OF HOW THAT PLACE MADE ME FEEL. I DECIDED TO MAKE A PHARMA-INSPIRED CHEEKY PIECE OUT OF SHEET GLASS, GLASS DOUGH, GLASS PAINT, AND FUSING ALL THOSE THOSE GLASS TECHNIQUES TOGETHER. I CALL IT THE CRAZY PILLS TRAY. I MADE THE TRAY ITSELF OUT OF BULLSEYE FRENCH VANILLA FUSIBLE GLASS. I PAINTED THE EDGES OF THE OFF-WHITE TRAY WITH DINGY BROWNS AND BLACKS TO MIMIC THE FEELING OF THE GROUNDS IN IT’S (THEN) CURRENT STATE. THE PILL CASINGS ARE made from formed BLACK glass dough WITH A SINISTER LITTLE HAPPY FACE BRANDING painted ON THE TAILS. I IMAGINE THATS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE MEDICATED IN A BRICK CAGE EVERYDAY. THE SPLIT OPEN PILL REVEALS MORE CONTENTS THEN SHOULD REASONABLY FIT INSIDE. LIKE AN EXPLOSION OF LIFE. ITS LAYERS OF HAPPY COLORS - NEO LAVeNDeR, LIGHT PINK, AND GLOW IN THE DARK frit (powdered glass). all of the pieces are then fused to the tray for permanence, and can be used to collect anything from jewelry, ash, coins, pocket lint, etc. this piece is part of my personal collection now and one of my favorite souvenirs from this trip - even if it took five years to finally make it.
