Lovesick Walls is an art installation located in the men’s and women’s restrooms on the Ballroom level of the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. Created during a residency at the acclaimed John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan,WI, the work is made with the same materials and methods that standard bathroom fixtures are made at the Kohler Factory. This unique program pairs arts and industry and functions as a catalyst for and explorer of new art forms and new ideas that will impact the lives of both artists and the public. This exciting partnership is the first one between JMKAC and a public agency, the City of Tacoma. Each restroom contains one stall each. The porcelain walls replace the standard stall walls creating an intimate experience for the viewer. Lovesick Walls contributes to Mr. Scheweder’s larger body of work “Lovesick Buildings”; an imaginative exploration of architecture and the body, the way we consume architecture as well as how architecture, in a sense, consumes us. This work imagines a building that has fallen in love with its occupants and conveys this emotion. The walls are made from 25 porcelain blocks, each of which began as a uniform rectangle. By manipulating the blocks while the porcelain was still wet, the artist was able to gently deflate the block shape in areas that animate the walls, making them look as if they just released a breath or sigh. This movement is continued with bubble-like forms that protrude from the sleek surfaces. The wall looks like a “stop-action” image frozen in mid-transformation from the confines of rigid geometry to a more organic manifestation of emotion. The spaces between the blocks are caulked with an industrial epoxy that is applied like cake frosting. The decorative nature of the caulking and the organic forms that were created from the molds of tangelo oranges that represent the presence of food, its deliciousness, and how we use it to represent our feelings and salve to our emotions. By subtly manipulating standard materials, Mr. Schweder blurs the line between utilitarian and decorative objects “and allows the viewer to consider the many uses of this material in our daily lives, as vessels for our food, as coverings for our walls, and as plumbing fixtures.”