Reflections On Ventilation
I took a mosaic mural workshop with Isaiah Zagar in Philadelphia. The wall installation, Reflections on Ventilation, was something I just had to try. The wall was a gift to myself for my 65th birthday. The wall is 23' long by 8' high.
The design was constantly evolving during each process of its creation. I first wanted to do something colorful and childlike, inspired by Isaiah Zagar's Philadelphia Magic Garden, but then I realized his murals were in a colorful city; mine would need to work with the desert landscape. My painting, Sounds of the Night and our life along an arroyo, gave me steppingstones to create my ceramic tiles. The glazing process and using a gas fire kiln were so new for me; I could never quite predict what the out come would be for the colors of the tiles I created. It took me a month, literally, to cut the thousands of mirror pieces. The colored glass tile for fill changed my design one more time. Sculpting the wall top out of foam and rebar was an education in construction and a lesson in persistence. It again changed my design. Getting this huge mural off my studio floor, down the stairs, through the patio and on to the wall was another challenge. Adhering it to the wall and grouting took three pairs of hands and much more time than expected.
The mural is most wonderful in the afternoon when the sun illuminates the house and the environment, as they are reflected into the mosaic mirrors. It gives one the illusion that you can see through the wall to the arroyo. At that time one can sit and reflect on ventilation.
