*I could not be more proud to be the recipient of a CID award from Coverings 2021 in Orlando for this project!! I was in Mexico when the awards were given out, so I didn’t get to be there in person, but it is a great honor to be acknowledged by such a prestigious organization.
The City of Tigard has been transforming the original train tracks that brought goods to the Tualatin Valley into a Heritage Trail. Stations along the trail feature information about some of the original inhabitants of the area, with emphasis on the non-white pioneers who contributed to the city and local region, including indigenous people, Chinese laborers who built the tracks, an the Cash family that lived in Hillsboro at a time when free black people were not allowed in Oregon by law, and more. As part of the project, the City selected three artists to create visual interest along the trail, building on the heritage theme. Happily, I was one of them, and I proposed installing seven small basalt boulders along the 3/4 mile trail to provide some seating for anyone who might need a rest. Shallow incisions would be cut into the surface of the rock, and I would inlay stained glass mosaic in flowing abstracted patterns to suggest water.
Above is one of the sketches I submitted to try to explain a concept that would be based on a natural material I had not yet sourced. It turns out, I had to choose from rock that was much more organic in shape than the polished hexagons I was seeing online. But Oregon Decorative Rock in Beaverton (next door to Tigard) was very helpful, getting me some more angular shapes from the quarry very quickly.
I had planned to have all of the work done in Portland, but came up with a new plan at the last minute. I rented a uhaul and my husband and I drove the rock to my studio. Then Shane from Reflections Custom Etching in Olympia came out with his crane to unload the stone into my driveway in front of the studio. It took 2 full hours to unload the rocks, and we didn’t finish until after dark.
Just a few days before bringing the rock home, I had connected with Ed Salerno, of the Tenino Rock Carvers. He agreed to take on carving the inlays, something he had never done before. In fact, this was his first time working with basalt! This photo is from the first day, after which I erected a canopy over the work space. Ed just finished the inlays on Thursday (March 12), and everything has worked out perfectly.
As Ed completed sections of the carving, I began setting mosaic into place. This is a sneak peek of a section featuring a Camas flower, one of the main staples of the original Kalapuya people, now part of the Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes.
Right now, I am counting my blessings. My husband and daughter are now on hiatus from their respective schools, and I have the luxury of working here all day, every day, with very little need to leave. I am so thankful that I have this big project and that I found a way to complete all of it here, rather than trying to commute to Portland. Not only does it ensure that the mosaic is securely held to the rock without trying to mold mesh sections to the contours, but I can work much more efficiently while riding out this pandemic. Furthermore, the connections I’ve made through this process create possibilities for future collaborations. I can imagine so many ways to combine mosaic with stone, and I hope to work with the Tenino Stonecarvers and Reflections Custom Etching in the future.
