McClure’s newest effort to show love for her neighbors popped up in Glass Farm this month near the corner of Glass Street and Crutchfield next to the new Save-A-Lot location. As that store is under construction this winter, McClure said she wanted to make sure that anyone in her community who was struggling and hungry could find food within reach.

McClure, 39, grew up in Chattanooga and believes in the mission of the local organization, Helping Hands, “to provide a place for people to obtain basic food items anonymously while building a sense of community amongst neighbors and changing the perception around hunger.” As a volunteer, NeTasha has helped fill the Helping Hands pantries located in the 37404 neighborhoods; but she noticed that there weren’t any pantries in 37406.

She also believes our human purpose is to help each other. So she decided to build a food pantry for her East Chattanooga neighbors.

Like most community work, it began with a spark and before she knew it, NeTasha had gathered the tools and talent to help her pull it off. She borrowed free tools from the Chattanooga Public Library’s Tool Lending Program, and, using donated wood pallets, got to work “making a mess” in her front yard.

“The library also recommended Rondell Crier, from Studio Everything, and that’s where the magic happened. Rondell and his apprentices taught me how to use the equipment, even donating the supplies,” McClure said.

Now that the Glass Street food pantry has been installed and filled with food, McClure said she will be making plans to create even more in other locations.

But that’s not all she’s creating. NeTasha has provided another kind of deeper nourishment with a homegrown project that not only inspires us, but lets everyone know that their needs are seen and supported.

Hear more from NeTasha McClure on WDEF-TV.

(photo credit: screenshot WDEF-TV interview)

It’s important to note that these young musicians and visual artists have a trust friendship with Rondell Crier of Studio Everything that has served as a solid foundation for the experimentation and self-initiated steps this talented crew now feels free and confident to orchestrate on their own. We’ve been so pleased to find out, be invited to join the party, and celebrate their young energy along the way.

(Photos by Olga de Klein)

Special finishing touches include a “yarn bomb” style knitted sweater and sliced wood grain walking stick to immortalize those crafted and constantly in use by the subject himself. In his retirement, Mr. Larry enjoys creating unique walking sticks for his trips along trails or just around the neighborhood. He was so pleased to contribute portions of his own creations to add character and authenticity to his larger-than-life portrait.

The portrait is installed in the pocket park at the Chamberlain and Glass intersection, replacing the beloved trolly formerly installed her by the same artistic duo. Building owner, Mike Long approved the installation, and we’re glad for his cooperation with the project. There are plans in the works to add portraits of a few more neighbors to keep Mr. Larry company, and we’re eager to see what beautiful work Olga creates next.

Following the preliminaries, some volunteers picked up landscaping tools or trash collecting gear to restore local green spaces along Glass Street, while others headed to private organizations needing help with sprucing up storage and applying fresh paint.  Some of the areas that received special attention included our pocket park at the junction of N. Chamberlain and Glass, which received fresh mulch and leveling to prepare for new plantings in the coming spring. Brenna Kelly, Program Director for our partners, the Southeast Conservation Corps, and her team led a hardworking crew of volunteers in that space.

Nearby, a crew of volunteers from Chambliss Center for Children helped complete and transport wooden planters from Studio Everything to the triangle between Awtry and N. Chamberlain, replacing deteriorating boxes to hold fresh plantings in the warmer months ahead. Local Block Leaders, Janette Richie and Jeffrey Evans pitched in on the planter project, and Studio Everything regulars, Chrystion and Amari were excited to receive energetic help for the kind of work they undertake regularly with Rondell Crier. “It feels great to show people around an area that’s really new to them, which is home to us. It’s fun to see them help us accomplish just in one day what would usually take weeks to finish,” Chrystion said.

At Christian Community Fellowship, four local sorority sisters from Sigma Beta Xi gave much needed organizing and cleaning assistance, which is wonderful help for a group that has consistently partnered with us in the past to offer support space for our GHC events. And a little ways farther, up Glass Street, volunteers from Causeway’s staff pitched in to restore book-cases and drywall for First Steps Christian Daycare. Always ready to roll up their sleeves whenever there’s an opportunity to improve our city, the Causeway group included three new team members getting a firsthand taste of their team’s consistent service ethic as they gave great help to an important haven for kids on Glass Street.

At the top end of Glass Street, NPS ranger Will Wilson led a clean-up crew to collect trash along the Pennsylvania Reservation connector trail, with help from enthusiastic volunteers like Sarah Hooper of local catering favorite, Dish T’Pass, and her two sons and leaders of Chattanooga Rotary, Harriett and Burton Whitaker who enjoyed the chance to explore a new corner of Chattanooga, having never been aware of Sherman Reservation before now. Geoffery Meldahl, the artist who designed the trail’s way-finding signage for our How-To Guide Projects, came to help clear trash too and was delighted to see his sign in great shape!

Just up at the peak of Lightfoot Mill Road, two Baylor school shuttle vans pulled in to unload a crew of twenty sophomores there to pitch in with NPS ranger Chris Barr to give the Sherman Reservation access trail a little TLC. The Baylor students have a history of using MLK Day as a time to serve within our local National Parks, and with today’s citywide focus on East Chattanooga, it only stands to reason that the focus would be on our local national park, Sherman Reservation.

Local News Channel 3 provided excellent coverage of the drive to improve local business property and community parks, and featured an interview with our neighbor, Mr. Lee McWhirter, owner of Lee’s Barbershop. Volunteers were all smiles working alongside Lee, who is full of stories and insight about Glass Street, and who was in great spirits all day, as Senator Bob Corker came by for a conversation directly following the feast of grilled hot dogs hosted by our local partner, Michele Peterson, director of ArchWay on Glass. Peterson issued an invitation to Senator Corker. Since then, he has shared his positive experience across social media including his official twitter.

Overall, it was a wonderful day of service activities on Glass Street, and we felt gratified and proud to welcome such supportive community members to the neighborhood, and we can’t thank everyone enough for the difference made on behalf of each entity mentioned, along with twenty other project sites across the wider East Chattanooga area! What an incredible way to honor Dr. King’s legacy together.

Each artist’s finished piece was completed and transported the same week as Usher’s September visit, for their planned installation in a large double-sided sign frame located near the junction of Dodson Ave. and Glass St.. The whole project was made possible by a generous CFGC grant, combined with supplemental funding from TAC.

These powerful works of art, which are both currently installed on an old sign structure in East Chattanooga on Glass Street, each convey a distinct, yet complimentary message of emotional response to challenges facing local youth, threatening what could otherwise be a life of talent and artistic benefit to our communities. As both 2$ON and Charlie conveyed in conversation with Usher, an expressive outlet of creativity during youth has proved to be a lifesaver for both artists: a reality Usher could relate to on a personal level, and wanted to bring awareness to during his visit to Chattanooga.

The formerly vacant sign frame provided the ideal space for a pop-up exhibition in the middle of the neighborhood, going up just before the crowds came out to join in the Glass Street LIVE block party celebration. Area resident Niko (Orlandus Stamper), helped install the artwork, and the property owner Toni Gaines was very supportive of the project.

Part of what makes this exhibition extra meaningful for GHC is its representation of mentorship between 2$ON and Rondell Crier, director of Studio Everything. When asked about the excitement of meeting Usher, 2$ON kept a balanced perspective: “I’m just really about meeting people into the art they make, and it was cool that he (Usher) came back here. Honestly, though, I’m just as inspired by the people I know personally who are making things too, and investing time in me, like Rondell.” The young artist has come a long way, to the exciting stage of showing in his first solo gallery exhibit, Extraterrestrial at UTC’s Apothecary space.

As Rondell expressed so beautifully in his congratulatory post on Facebook:

“All congrats goes to 2$ON! He walked into the studio two years ago determined to pursue creativity in many ways. This is evidence that when you make yourself and your resources available others can put them to use in very positive and meaningful ways.

Share Your Resources!
Invest in People!
Develop Humanity!”

When our artists are acknowledged as leaders, the whole community shines. Thank you 2$ON and Charlie, for contributing great work right here on Glass Street. If you haven’t already, be sure to drive by and take a look! And thank you again to the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga for generous funding toward this project.

Last week we joined our community in giving thanks, even in the midst of challenges and loss. As we gathered with family to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Glass House Collective team was grateful for some specifics, and want to share our list as we gear up for tomorrow’s #chagives campaign. Here is a list of the top 5 things the Glass House Collective is thankful for this year:

1. Our Kids. To celebrate the creativity going on here on Glass Street, Usher Raymond chose Studio Everything as a site to film part of his edition of State Farm’s Neighborhood Sessions. We were so excited to tune in together to watch as the TV special aired Wednesday, November 23 on TNT! The kids who work with Rondell Crier at the studio were so excited when he came for the surprise visit! The special highlighted Usher and State Farm’s efforts to revive music and arts education in Chattanooga.

2. Our Neighborhood. The more we get to know our neighbors, and listen to real input from them about priorities, the more we have to be thankful for! Glass Street is just one thoroughfare in the midst of East Chattanooga, but during big events like Glass Street LIVE or at regular Good Neighbor Network meetings, we keep catching the signal that this is a community ready for life to surge! We’re also thankful to appreciate brand new views of this place via aerial footage captured by Kelly Lacey during Glass street LIVE, as well as new access to Sherman Reservation on fresh cut trails by our friends at the SECC!

3. Our Partners. We firmly believe in our success depending on fostering solid partnerships, which is why we’ve recently devoted time away from our regular work day to team up with Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer crews as they focus in on the Glass Farms neighborhood for their Neighborhood Revitalization program. We also hear the excitement from local kids talking about the business learning happening on Wednesday evenings over at ArchWay. Recent guests touring to learn more about how to partner with us asked many questions about both ArchWay and Studio Everything, as they explored how best to lend their resources to our work.

4. Our Inspiration. We’re thankful for work with inspiring artists right here on Glass Street, like Rondell Crier, our Studio Everything partner paving the way for mentor-relationships with budding artistic craftsmen like 2$ON and Christian and Amari. We also thrive on the infusion of life from seeing the work of outside artists and urban designers paving the way forward in the arena of community engaged design. Friends like Public Workshop’s founder Alex Gilliam who came from Philly to design and build with kids at the Avondale Rec Center, and artists like Wayne White and Mimi Pond who have been working for months to create the awe-inspiring Wayne-O-Rama. The relationships these and many other artists foster here at GHC make ripples that continue to energize our specific work in this specific place.

5. Our Community. The list of organizations participating in the #chagives campaign this Giving Tuesday is a great reminder that we get to participate and do our work within a caring and responsive community, taking care of one another when painful tragedies hit home. It was great to celebrate and feast alongside partners at Causeway as a part of their citywide One Table feast. We also shared info and resources about how to best support those in our city hit with loss last week with the Woodmore Elementary bus accident and the Art120 building fire.

Happy Thanksgiving from Glass House Collective!

Additional Note:

Please remember to reach out tomorrow! Many are hurting after unimaginable loss, following the Woodmore Elementary Bus tragedy last Monday 11/21. According to the Times Free Press lines to donate blood were out the door at all area locations, directly following the accident. In the midst of grief, we’re thankful for a community that cares and responds. Here’s United Way’s list of the best ways to continue offering help and support.

We certainly did enjoy a hyperactive month with a surprise visit from Usher and filming at Studio Everything, a collaboration with Wayne-O-Rama and GHC visit from the artist Wayne White, our own executive director, Teal Thibaud was selected for the Chief Executive Program up at Harvard’s campus, we hosted an incredible neighborhood celebration: Glass Street LIVE, widely reviewed in local press and attended by nearby neighbors and many friends who experienced our beautiful streets for the very first time! We were proud to spotlight our National Parks Service that same weekend, with its Centennial Celebration press conference up at Sherman Reservation.

Then with barely a breather, Thibaud and GHC co-founder Katherine Currin traveled up to NYC for the opening of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s exhibit: “By the People: Designing a Better America,” an exhibition of 60 collaborative designs from throughout the United States that featured Glass House Collective’s How-To Guide, as an example of scaleable design process. What a bonus to find GHC discussed in the accompanying NY Times article!

While our director was away, Nikki Lewis, GHC Community Engagement Coordinator, finalized the arrangements for the National Night Out Event held October 4 at East Chattanooga Rec. Center, bringing together 7 area neighborhood associations and praised as a fun-filled positive event for everyone involved!

We’ve been hard at work putting our grant funding from Education Foundation of America (EFA) to great use, so a big thank you to EFA for the opportunity to pour our energy and hearts into engagement with our wonderful community here.

Don’t miss out on the overflow of innovative ideas and community building! We are always welcoming new partners, artists, neighbors and friends to join us in our work on Glass Street. Click on the “Get Involved” tab here on our website and enter your e-mail at the top of this page to sign up for our newsletter!

As Rondell Crier put it, “the kids were speechless with excitement that Usher took the time to hang out with them. It sent a clear message that they matter, and what they make with their own interests and talents can take them places.” Even later, during Back-to-School night at Hardy Elementary, the kids were still buzzing with energy from Usher’s visit. No one could quite believe it really happened, and yet, solid proof came in the form of tickets for each of the kids for Usher’s private Neighborhood Sessions concert at Dalewood Middle School.

Teal Thibaud talked about the experience on The Tenesha Irvin Show, Sunday, as well as announcing Glass Street LIVE, inviting the community to come join the party on 9/24. Teal says, “It was incredible to have Usher come out to meet these kids, and see firsthand the great work happening on Glass Street. We couldn’t have had better timing for his visit either, as we are trying to get the word out about our block party, Glass Street LIVE, and people are paying attention.” Teal and Rondell both talked more on Jazzanooga’s radio segment, later on Sunday, about the boost this was for the kids and how energy remains high as we get closer to the Glass Street LIVE event.

It was thoughtful of Usher to post social media footage on both Instagram and Snapchat about his experience on Glass Street, (even tagging our Instagram @glasshouselive, yay!) as he has over 4 million followers and can help spread the word about positive growth happening in our community. We were also inspired by his amazing performance Friday evening. The music production was kinetic, and Usher took time mid-show to share motivating words about the importance of arts in his education (he matched donations to Hamilton County Schools for art supplies and equipment while he was in town). So many of these kids hadn’t experienced music on that scale performed live, and he was at his best, so they were having the time of their lives. It was quite a trip for the adults that were able to attend as well, and everyone had a blast singing and dancing along like the true fans we are!

Alex is high energy, and his drive was infectious for kids hungry to experience the satisfaction of participation in a process that brings a tangible, built installation to life: something they can actually climb around on, and hang out underneath: what they nicknamed, “chill spots.” But way before the “chill spots” were constructed in front of the Chattanooga Public Library in conjunction with the wrap-up of the AIA Convention, these kids spent days getting comfortable with power tools and familiar with the collaborative process of imagining together what they wanted to build given their possibilities and limitations.

Teal Thibaud came out to join one of the kids’ building groups as they played with what shapes bore weight, and could reach the highest pinnacle. She has been impressed with Public Workshop, based in Philadelphia, for a while now, and enjoyed working and playing with a person whose mission so closely aligns with that of Glass House Collective. “The mixture of bringing some degree of vision and structure to these kids, mixed with an openness to allow them to discover and give input along the way is really key,” she says. “It’s so affirming of the groundwork Studio Everything is laying, while infusing some fresh perspective and ideas as well.”

Rondell Crier, Studio Everything’s mastermind, was out working with Alex also, and brought him into the studio at various points to meet some of the GHC kids who have been gradually learning to responsibly employ similar tools and processes, rather than just talk about abstract notions of “collaboration” and “design.” It’s been another strong reminder that our neighborhood youth are ready to lend their voices and hands at every level of the place-making process.

We echo the clear message they caught from Alex: this is your city: build it.

• Be sure to scroll down Public Workshop’s Facebook Page  for super affirming comments about Glass House Collective and Studio Everything. Thanks Alex!
• Browse our GHC Facebook Album displaying the process that went into designing and building the “chill spots.”