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Preservation Postcards

What do laser machines and history have to do with each other?


This wonderful history project!


This combines my love for painting/art, old architecture, and 3D design.


Laser etching the raw wood sign for Preservation Postcards.
Laser etching the sign

A delivery went to the East Tennessee Historical Society's museum shop this past week.


Like in my last post – and probably previous ones – I mention old architecture. I don't know where this love came from but it is definitely a passion that has turned to paper... And pen... and watercolors.


These postcards tell a bit about each landmark on the back. In some cases, the building is no longer standing or looks the same. In this case, these Knoxville buildings are as we see them today. However, in doing this project, I am learning how they came to be and why.


For someone who hated history in high school, this is a unique and fun way of learning it! Did you know the Gay Street Bridge was the first public bridge across the Tennessee River. It was built for the military use by the Union army. What is seen today is a newer construction - thank you modern day engineers. However, it is still quite old.


You'll need to look up the rest of the info yourself. Better yet, head on down to Knoxville's wonderful History Museum just off of Gay Street. It is a magnificent museum that is wonderfully curated. I know my first reaction when visiting it years ago was , "WOW! This is in Knoxville!"


Postcards for the Preservation Postcard set for some of Knoxville's landmarks.
Postcard set

Fast forward to several years later, I am so excited to announce these postcards are in the museum!


These are all neatly wrapped in their packages just before delivering. I need to get back to the museum soon once they are all up on display. Which might be by now.


What I love most about these is that each postcard set advertises for the location they are in. This set seen here – is for the Knoxville Historical Society. The Jefferson City version is hosted by their Heritage Center (coming soon!)


I do believe in the benefit of reminding ourselves where we 'have been' so we know where we need to go. These structures certainly tell MANY stories.


Preservation Postcard stand

Finally, this stand is designed specifically for these postcards to be easily recognizable. This is the fun 3D portion I first mentioned.


It took a minute but I figured out a way to cut the acrylic and set up this stand to work well with the look of the cards.


And thank goodness D comes in the garage when he hears me swearing and helps alleviate my woodworking un-skills. LOL!


The video on the right is a test video for the prototype. This part I am testing if it needs to be stained before or after. I'm not sure what's more fun - the painting or the prototyping. I guess I will need to continue with doing more of these to find out!


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This post is 100% human generated, including grammatical errors.

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