Installed!
Well, the wall is finally finished. Installation was really easy, and all the different workers from Walton Construction were nice and funny and since it was close to Thanksgiving, we were all getting into a holiday mood!
29th Street Crossings has really turned out to be beautiful place. Even though it’s an affordable housing project you can see UHC’s attention to detail. The quality of the materials throughout the development is really quite remarkable. If I were a rich person I would want to live there. They have a deep understanding of the fact that real people are going to live there, and I think they tried to create a comfortable and attractive atmosphere the developer, themselves, would be happy to live in.
The landscape is lush, and welcoming as well. Behind our wall is a magnolia tree. When it grows a little more and blooms, it will actually look like it is blending into the wall, which is pretty cool.
It took some time to get this project completed, but it was worth the wait, and it is truly a place people will be proud to live in. All the people at UHC, especially the owners, were great to work with, and I hope to work with them again. In addition to my wall, there is also mosaic work in the community room by Anne Marie Karlsen and it is really beautiful.
I am grateful to have been able to have this project. I learned how to implement some new techniques, and I always like learn something new. I hope you like the final result.
Magnolias
Well, we are on board the Redevelopment roller coaster! I’m glad that CRA/LA is still alive! And I still have a commission! I am a huge fan of the CRA, not only because they employ me as an artist, but because they employ me, they also help my mortgage holder, HOA, grocery store, ceramic product supplier, the folks I buy lunch from, gas station, phone company, the restaurants and movie theaters I visit, the charities I support, my children and grandchildren and many, many others. Shutting down the CRA/LA would cause far-reaching damage. They touch many lives, both directly, and indirectly. Those signing papers and making decisions really need to weigh the ramifications. I am now stepping off the soap box, but, wake up Sacramento!
So, back to the blog. The magnolias have begun. They have a really beautiful opalescent glaze on them and I think they are really going to add elegance to the mural. I have kept them till the last, because they are made from white clay to make them really have a pristine and translucent appearance. I think they are pretty spectacular against all those green leaves.
We are working toward installation in a month, and it is getting crazy. We have stuff piled up all over the studio! The tiles are glued to mesh, and they are stacked everywhere! We have 4 tables up and it is like walking in a maze. At least there is a clear path to the bathroom so we can wash up and keep our brushes clean!
You have seen small sections, and soon the complete wall will be coming together. Wish us luck, we are about to take off on the installation adventure!
So, here is a sample from the bench, with the tiles near complete! All the fillers are added in, some of which are about 1/4th the size of a dime.
And by the way, I seemed to have dropped a zero when I figured out how many individual tiles I will have made when this mural is finished. I let Nagy do the math this time, and it seems that will have made about 30,000 counting the teeny tiny fillers.
