Lyle Amphitheater Mosaic Project03-27-06 UPDATE The first tiles have been installed. Don't they look great!!!
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Before
After ( intended design not a real picture)
Mosaic Mural at the Lyle Center Ampitheatre
In June 2005, ENV chairs Dr. Kyle Brown and Professor Babette Mayor brainstormed an idea for the Lyle Center Regenerative Studies Amphitheatre. Why not create a situation in which the ENV art students could decorate the amphitheatre with mosaic patterns? The idea was put forth to Professor Joyce Hesselgrave, who teaches the craft of mosaics.
Initial ideas, concept sketches, and digital sketches were presented to Dr. Brown and Lyle Center staff Deborah Scheider and Juan Araya by Joyce Hesselgrave. Theme, color, materials, and process were discussed. The visual theme of water, powerful and dynamic, was a primary consideration. After all, pointed out Dr. Brown, force of water was a basic power source used in Lyle Center Regenerative Studies curricula. Juan Araya remarked that one particular water sketch reminded him of the Lyle Center topographical map. It was decided that vertical planes of the amphitheatre would be styled with thin concrete mosaic slabs.
With this guidance in hand, Joyce drew up a large pastel based upon a colorful fractal concept of a topo map. Lines, colors and rhythmic movement were drawn with the muse of moving water in mind. This pastel drawing is 45% in size of the actual amphitheater, of which the vertical planes are a total 250 square feet area size.
Donations were made to the project by Moon Maiden Mosaics, Ken Cairn Stained Glass, Larry Maes of the Southern California Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Lou Valenzuela of Cemex, and the Loveland family of Monrovia.
Many thanks are due to Larry Maes and Lou Valenzuela of our California concrete industry, for their expertise and willingness to help in any way possible.
Cal Poly fine art and graphic design students signed up to work on a total of almost 50 mosaic panels for the ampitheatre. Stained glass and ceramic tile materials were cut and arranged as per the finished drawing. Six months of work by the students who donated their time willingly. They have done an incredible job.
The mosaic is to be installed in June 2006 by ENV Landscape Architecture Professor Rod Tapp and his contracting team.
Joyce Hesselgrave