You wouldn’t think of a fire station as a hot bed for art but, the Tallahassee Fire Department has a new piece to display in their station today.
Katelyn Holley, an incoming senior at Sail High School, is no stranger to fire fighter life. She comes from a long line of firefighters, including grandfathers, uncles, aunts, and friends. That’s what led her to feature ladder men in a “fiber painting” that was displayed at the LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts last March. Now the painting has found a permanent home at the Tallahassee Fire Department, courtesy of the artist herself. And the city’s fire officials say their pleased.
“To take your time and so much energy, so much effort, so much expression, and so much creativity to just do this is amazing and it really shows how much you care for us. But, then to donate it to us, to let go of it, you know so much hard work to let go of it for us and every time we look at it, it helps us understand that there are people out there that appreciate what we do,” said Tallahassee Fire Chief Cindy Dick.
The technique Holley used to create the piece is one that has been around since the Middle Ages.
“The African method that they were talking about is Batiking and I almost cried a couple times working on that thing, I’m telling you; it drove me up the wall. But, it kept me so interested that I was just like I have to get this done and also on top of Batiking, I embroidered, sewed, and tie dyed,” Holley said.
Her work will be displayed in the fire station’s museum as a tribute to all firefighters past and present. Fire Department spokesman Mike Bellamy pledged that the teen’s work would “last for a life time” and would serve as message of strength and honor for future generations of firefighters.