Atlantic Fasteners Donates Supplies for Public Art in Boston
Colorful flowers made from threaded rod and hex nuts donated by Atlantic Fasteners have transformed an ordinary sidewalk in Boston's Chinatown.
On display from May through November, the installation features handmade flowers created by fifth graders during class at the Josiah Quincy School. Inspired by a traditional Chinese floral pattern, they recycled plastic soda bottles into flowers with 200 stems of three-foot-long, one-quarter-inch diameter steel zinc plated threaded rod, secured with 400 one-quarter-inch zinc-plated steel hex nuts. The students helped to plan the design for the artwork after exploring and analyzing the site for their artwork along Marginal Road between Harrison Avenue and Washington Street.
The public art intervention project aims to transform unused urban spaces into delightful places to be through creative, small-scale acts, explained Marrikka Trotter, the artist who conceived the project and an architect at the Boston firm Miller Dyer Spears. This installation is the first of a series, with a second to be completed this summer. "Small ideas and actions can help strengthen a community," Ms. Trotter said, adding that her "small things" initiative encourages children to work together, be imaginative and learn how to reuse and recycle materials.
Ms. Trotter, who is completing an advanced degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, conceived of the project during coursework at the M.I.T Visual Arts Program. She spearheaded the different aspects of the project, enlisting sponsors including the M.I.T. Visual Arts Program, working with the school and teachers Mimi Fong and Wai Chin Ng and their 50 fifth graders on design, site and flower fabrication, and obtaining permission from city officials and soliciting materials from Atlantic Fasteners.
Ms. Trotter approached Atlantic Fasteners because the company is employee owned, located in Massachusetts and had the materials she needed for the flowers. She described the project to Atlantic President Tony Peterson who readily agreed to donate the threaded rod and hex nuts.
"This project would not have been possible without the donation by Atlantic Fasteners," Ms. Trotter said. She added, "The service from Atlantic Fasteners was phenomenal. The order was shipped early, contained exactly what I asked for, and included a package of lollipops which the kids loved. I wish I always received that kind of treatment from the paid suppliers I work with as an architect."
Headquartered in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Atlantic Fasteners is a worldwide, ISO 9001:2000 certified supplier of commercial and aerospace/mil-spec fasteners specializing in vendor-managed inventory programs, made-to-print parts and technical problem solving. Atlantic Fasteners stocks 22,229 varieties of fasteners available at www.atlanticfasteners.com or by phone at 1-800-800-(BOLT) 2658.
The company is 100% employee owned and has offered the industry's only $100 Service Guarantees since 1986. For two consecutive years, Atlantic has been the recipient of a Gold Medalist Supplier Award for perfect quality and on-time delivery to the Defense Supply Center in Richmond, VA. Its monthly Defense Logistics Agency, DLA, score consistently ranks above 95% for its Cage code 1QYC9.
