Mosaic mural on track for 2007 debut
Tiles, tiles and more tiles. OCCC art professor Mary Ann Moore is up to her neck in thousands of clay tiles that are being used to construct a 1,500 square foot mosaic mural.
The mural will feature Oklahoma wildlife, landscapes and state symbols.
The mosaic is being installed at the mouth of the Bricktown Canal. It is scheduled to be finished in time for the state centennial celebration in 2007.
Moore, lead artist and project director, is working along side retired OCCC art professor Carolyn Farris on the project.
Farris drew the illustrations that the handmade porcelain and clay tile pieces will replicate.
The mural will cost $180,000 and is being co-sponsored by OCCC and the Oklahoma Centennial Commission.
Moore said the project was recommended by the Oklahoma City Arts Commission and was approved by the Bricktown Design Committee.
OCCC art students and a number of volunteers are getting their hands dirty and installing the mosaic.
Volunteer Barbara Taber is a mosaicist who worked on the murals in the OCCC courtyard. She said the artistic process of piecing together a mosaic is therapeutic.
Visual Art major Andy Holten said being involved with the project is good for his art portfolio. Holten is working on the mural for college credit.
Moore said she and her team are building the mural in pieces at a studio downtown.
OCCC student Melania St. Onge said the process is a tedious one.
First, a gridline of the image is drawn onto paper, she said. The clay is then rolled out and is cut into squares.
Next, the small squares or tiles are fired in a kiln and smoothed over.
The tile pieces are assembled into the mosaic image and glazed with color.
The pieces are then disassembled and fired once again. When a portion of the design is finished, it is reassembled and placed on a mesh board. After that, the piece is bubble wrapped and ready to be placed in storage until all segments of the design have been completed.
"When we're ready to install it, each section goes back up like a puzzle," St. Onge said.
For more information about the mosaic mural and how to volunteer, contact Moore at (405) 682-1611, ext. 7255.
