April 14, 2009 ended the day with huge shoes. On lookers were sure they had to be the shoes of a giant. Many visited the Museum Annex to view the drawing of the Whole Wall and were amazed to see the shoes actually belong to a woman.

Seeing the bricks lined up on the pallets is amazing. Each one is marked and numbered so the masons know where they are to be placed. Even then, it must be difficult to know the bottom from the top.

The Work Begins

On Monday, April 13 the foundation was set and the first actual bricks were set. At the end of the day the backside of the building (off the alley) was shaping up.

On April 10, 2009 the first load of sand and concrete arrived.

The Installation Preparation

On Tuesday, April 7, 2009 the rain let up and the City of Concordia installed the snow fence around the building and parking lot. The forklift and some of the bricks arrived. The excitement began to build.

Mason Picked to Install The Whole Wall Project

Brick By The Number$

We need your help to get The Whole Wall up on the wall!

Over four years ago, Cloud County and Concordia citizens began collaborating on one of the largest art projects ever undertaken as a group. They have done a spectacular job. The artists completed the carving earlier this Spring.

Cloud Ceramics, the brick manufacturing plant, has done a marvelous job of firing this project, all 2300 sq ft of it. Mark Collette, out at the plant, has managed to keep up with all these pieces, even laying them out at the plant for our viewing pleasure. He has that artistic knack of being able to sight select among nearly 6900 brick where each piece goes.

The Cloud County Historical Museum is now taking donations to cover the more than expected cost of installing this half a block of artwork depicting Cloud County's History. It's expected this wall will be a large draw for tourism through the area, especially for events such as the Sampler Festival. So far, in kind donations have kept the actual monies spent to one fifth of it's real value in dollars.

History is what you make it! Be a real Kansas Pioneer! Any thing you can do to help is more than appreciated.

It's a Relief

As you may have guessed, the artists are complete in the carving phase and wait with bated breath for the go on the mystical installation to come! Meanwhile, some of our onlooking assistants have begun their own brick carving...kudos to you!