A-B Tech Decorative Restoration Students Transform Old Factory Into Film Set

Decorative Restoration program attracts motion picture industry

A-B Tech Decorative Restoration students Lori Lewis, Ellen Theiss and Suzannah McEntire (on ground) recreate the storefront of "Almost Blue"- an eclectic music store in downtown Asheville.

It is raining torrents and a group of movie makers, producers, writers, students - among them volunteers from A-B Tech's Decorative Restoration program - are scurrying about at an old textile factory, separating newspaper from board to reveal a replicated store sign for a movie set.

It's one of several signs and storefronts the A-B Tech students will build as a backlot for Asheville's newest industry - motion pictures. The factory is home to the new Blue Ridge Motion Pictures (BRMP) of Asheville.

According to BRMP Executive Producer Merwin Gross, movies are not new to Asheville, where filmmakers have long been drawn to its beauty, diverse topography and seclusion and over 60 films have been shot. But never before has there been a filmmaking group or "motion-picture factory" permanently located in Asheville to attract more movies, commercials and television shows, Gross says. Why Asheville?

Asheville is home to A-B Tech, which houses the country's only full-time Decorative Restoration program. According to Decorative Restoration Instructor Derick Tickle, students from all over the country and internationally are drawn to the program, which has a waiting list. "Our graduates have become designers, film producers or have gone into picture frame restoration, plaster work, gold leaf work or decorative restoration," Tickle explained, adding there are five major decorative restoration companies in the United States and they continuously draw from his graduates.

Working closely with the filmmakers at BRMP on nights and weekends, Tickle's students volunteered this summer to transform the factory into a film set of 16 Asheville storefronts with parking and street signs.

Gross and BRMP CEO Leanne Campbell say A-B Tech is one of the primary reasons they chose Asheville.

"Everything at A-B Tech is what we'll be needing. We need carpenters, electricians, hospitality coordinators, decorative restoration, a construction group, etc.," said Campbell, a real estate investor from New Hampshire. " The college has been instrumental in providing volunteers and they even asked me, 'What do we need to train our students to do so they can stay in Asheville and keep working?' The minute we stepped foot in Asheville, they were there at the door, (instructors) and deans approached us, asking what (we) need in the next five and 10 years, so they could put it into their curriculum."

The volunteer A-B Tech students, along with students from neighboring universities, are a month away from completing the lot. The students received permission from the store owners to duplicate their signs, and then worked with a local Glidden Paint representative to match colors.

According to student Lori Lewis, the volunteer project has given her a chance to apply what she has learned in the program. A large bottle of flat beer in one hand, and a recycled tin can in another, Lewis is mixing a 'scumble,' a homemade dye for faux-finishing made from beer and walnut shells, as she explains many of these techniques, coupled with resourceful salvaging, were used in the storefront replications. "We would go to the salvage yard, load up a bunch of just stuff and then turn reasonable things into art," Lewis said.

Styrofoam was treated as wood and plywood as concrete while carefully-matched paints were applied using aging, antique or rustic accents to reproduce the original storefronts. Amidst remnants from the factory's textile age, the students have transformed the entire side of the old factory to look like a street in Asheville.

According to Campbell, the next phase is creating scenery in front of the backlot - sidewalk, lights, flowers, lampposts, grass and benches - and installing a wave system inside a massive water tank large enough for boat scenes.

"We hope to continue working with A-B Tech. I am amazed at the quality of what they're doing and what they know. They are great leaders and workers," Campbell said, adding, "We also plan to build a crew base so we are up and ready to go."

From this crew base, Gross said their immediate plans are also to "make movies and create jobs."

This story, written by Communications Specialist Cathy Balken, appeared in the Aug. 20 issue of The Community College Times, a biweekly newspaper of the American Association of Community Colleges. Return to top

OD Corner: Quality Enhancement Kick-Off

A-B Tech has a tradition of gathering together for professional development two afternoons each year. In September and February, classes are canceled and work is set aside to provide an uninterrupted time of camaraderie and learning. We do this because we are committed to providing accessible, quality, educational opportunities for lifelong learning to meet the diverse and changing needs of our community.

On Sept. 19, we will gather again to rededicate ourselves to our students and community. In keeping with our broad QEP theme of developing strategies for student success, we will use appreciative inquiry to discuss the many ways that we already help our students to be successful. We will identify existing and potential measures of student success and explore how we can enhance the quality of our programs and services.

As we embark on our quality enhancement planning process, we are reminded that we have recently reaffirmed our mission statement, identified strategic goals and tactical objectives, and upgraded our annual department objectives/outcomes. We are not starting over; rather we are continuing a long-standing tradition of commitment to our students. We hope that you will join us when we gather together again as members of the community's college to reflect on our dedication to student success.

The Quality Enhancement Retreat will be held on our Enka Campus between 11:30 and 4:30. (Take exit 44 off I-40 west; turn right at end of ramp; turn left onto Sand Hill Road (this is the fourth traffic light); the Enka campus is on the left; go in the second driveway; the Haynes Training and Conference Center is on the right; go in the main entrance; take stairs or elevator to second floor.) To accommodate the various employee schedules, we are opening the lunch line at 11:30 this year and keeping it open until 12:30. We will offer an assortment of Subway sandwiches, cookies, chips, and drinks.

Carol Rovello, Director of Employee and Organization Development Return to top

OD September Activities

• 3rd Super Tuesday Kickoff
• 4th Using Graphics Effectively updated!
• 9th Guiding Advisory Committees new!
• 10th Blackboard Basics for On-Line Teaching new!
• 10th E-mail Management
• 12th Teaching Tips for the Freshman Seminar new!
• 17th Madison Campus Tour
• 17th GroupWise Time Management
• 19th Quality Enhancement Retreat
• 20th Desktop Faxing
• 24th Enka Campus Tour
• 24th File Management
• 25th On-Campus Massage (register with Holly McCurry)
• 25th GroupWise Overview
• 26th On-Campus Shiatsu Massage (register with Holly McCurry)
• 27th Understanding Your Work Style

Quality Enhancement Retreat Agenda

• 11:30-12:30 Lunch lines open
• 12:30-1:00 Finish lunch, Welcome and QEP Kick-Off
• 1:15-3:30 Appreciative Inquiry in Small Groups (with break)
• 3:30-4:00 Reporting Out to Full Group and Closing Remarks
• 4:00-4:30 Speaker

A-B Tech Local Members Attend National Convention

JoAnn Crompton, Kathryn Lemieux, Wanza Davis, Mylie Ramsey, and Brenda Katona represented the A-B Tech Local and NC District 1 at the National Association of Educational Office Professionals Conference in Greenville, July 22-26. Kathryn and Mylie represented past state presidents, Wanza represented past state and national presidents, JoAnn represented NC District 1 and Brenda represented A-B Tech Local. Kathryn, JoAnn and Brenda will be serving on national committees next year.

LaShonda Hopper, a Shelby native and computer programming student at Kings College in Charlotte, was a national student scholarship winner. She was named the winner during the July 24 Affiliate Luncheon.

North Carolina won third place in the national newsletter competition for state organizations with 301 members or more. Kathryn Lemieux is the editor of Professionally Speaking.

Brenda Katona was recognized Wednesday evening at the Professional Standards Program Banquet. Brenda received her national professional standards certificate (Advance III, Option II) as well as her CEOE (certified educational office employee).

Charlie Mae Holland Mace won the Jackie Evans Distinguished Service Award, presented by the board of directors of NAEOP for distinguished service. Charlie Mae has been an active NC member on local, state, and national levels. She is a former NAEOP president. Charlie Mae has conducted several workshops for the A-B Tech Local. Return to top

Tech Talk is published for employees of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College by the College Relations Division.

Executive Editor: Mona Cornwell
Managing Editor: Jodi Ford

Send submissions to Mona Cornwell, director of communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu. Publication of the next issue is scheduled Oct 1. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 18. This edition of Tech Talk was produced September 2002. Equal Opportunity Educational Institution.