The completion of our mosaic mural is the fulfillment of a vision that began several years ago. Since the goal of the ARTree is to have as many people as possible join in creating our murals, a mosaic mural seemed a great way to engage the community in participating in public art. The mosaics of a local artist, Jane Dietz, inspired the project and Jane was instrumental in guiding us through the process.
We applied for an arts grant through the City of Santa Clarita to make the project possible. Once our grant was funded, a local artist, Shelly Mussenden, volunteered to design the wall. Once the design was painted onto the wall as a guide for the application of tile the tiling began.
What an exciting beginning we had! So many people of all ages came to add tiles to the mural. We mixed adhesive as fast as we could so that everyone could stick tile to the wall. We broke boxes and boxes of brightly colored tiles and watched as the pieces came together to form the colorful design. It was amazing how fast the beautiful images came to life! We anticipated four to six weeks of weekend work but it only took two weekends because of the many who came to add tile.
Tile work started with the ARTree Board members but a crowd quickly grew and included children, parents, and even bicyclists who just stopped to add a few tiles before continuing their ride. At the end of the fourth day the tiling was complete. Of course, we still had a lot of cleaning and grouting to do. Then California Tile came to the rescue. They sent professionals to clean and grout the mural. The addition of the custom name plate will be the final touch that completes the project.
The ARTree is proud to offer our latest mural to the people of Santa Clarita. And now we will begin the search for our next community project.