Vine At The Arbors Mosaic Mural Installation

The installation of this mural, "Vine At The Arbors", began on the
Winter Solstice - a very auspicious time. It marks the end of the darkness and the coming of the light - a new beginning when all things are possible. I like that!
This mural is on the outside of a community building in a new housing
development in Richmond, California.
It's made of glass and high fire tile and measures 9' x 7'.
On the first day my assistant, Saundra Warren, and I traced the
paper template of the art onto the wall.

The second day was the one I had been planning for weeks
and it went smooth as ice!

Each piece was adhered with thinset to the wall and held in place with tape.

By the end of the second day, we had installed all the pieces.

The third day was grouting day. The worst - the VERY worst - part of this whole process for me is the taping off of this kind of intricate art. It is painstaking and there are no shortcuts - the surrounding wall must be protected! It took us three hours to complete this taping job.

Unfortunately I ran out of the grout with one square foot left to go!
Because of the Christmas holiday the grout store was closed so I had to
wait several days to totally finish.
But finish I did!
Here are some close ups:

Vine At The Arbors
9' x 7'
Glass, mirror and high fire tile
December 2009
Special thank you to Saundra Warren for her much appreciated assistance!

Jingletown's Mosaics

There is a small neighborhood in Oakland that is a hidden jewel.

It's called Jingletown and it is covered in mosaics!
Relatively few people know about it though.

It gets it's name from back when it was a working-class neighborhood. The men would walk home on payday jingling their money in their pockets - hence the name.

I always compare this area to Balmy Alley in San Francisco - a neighborhood covered in art by artists working under the radar.

Many many mosaic artists, including me, contributed their skills and time to these murals.

But whereas painted murals are standard in the mural game, mosaic murals are much more rare, I think.
And whereas paint is a flat medium, mosaics are 3 dimensional and sparkly!

The neighborhood itself is little more than several square blocks of artists' warehouse lofts, condos, older homes and small businesses on the Oakland Riviera, between the Park Street Bridge and the Fruitvale Bridge.

It's an easy stroll for any art lover who wants to discover a new place.

These photos are presented here with very little description and are in no particular order.

I am doing this on purpose.

The mosaics range in size from sidewalk planters to creations that cover entire walls of buildings.

Just come, take a walk and experience this unique neighborhood for yourself.

Then have a nosh at Kefa Cafe or a drink and dinner at Tiki Tom's restaurant.

Jingletown is also a part of the East Bay Open Studios in June every year and holds an Art Walk of it's own in early December.

Again, these are purposefully presented with no information. Intrigued by what you see? Then come on down!

And note that some will be found inside buildings, not on them!



Mosaic teachers, students and volunteers all contributed to this neighborhood covered in art.
There are too many to name, really.

The orange dots on this map give you an idea where to find these mosaics.
Learn more about Jingletown at jingletown.org.