CHECK BACK FOR AN UPCOMING SHOW IN NOVEMBER TO HEAR MY INTERVIEWS WITH LAUREL AND ACFFC Director GEORGES METELLUS. Date to be announced. Want to recieve advance notice? Click "Follow" on the main page right below the title, MOSAIC OF ART - George Fishman.
Mosaic artist and community builder, LAUREL TRUE brings the MOSAIC OF ART back to Haiti - specifically she re-visits the ART CREATION FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN in Jacmel. Earlier this spring, Laurel, accompanied by fellow artist ERIN ROGERS, led the staff and students of ACFFC plus community volunteers, in creating a stunning mosaic mural on a wall near the beach. This was Phase 1.
Before the work began.
With the mural's conclusion and celebration, the offer was presented and accepted to round the corner and continue on a new and much longer section of wall. Phase 2.
A look around the corner - Phase 1 to Phase 2
The focus in this second session is not just to create more beauty for the community of Jacmel, traumatized by the January earthquake, but to develop a core of mosaic-making team leaders, who can in turn pass their inspiration and skills to successive crews of artists and volunteers in Jacmel and beyond. JUDY HOFFMAN, one of the founder of the Art Creation Foundation for Children was introduced its programs here in an earlier interview.
Here are a few photos Laurel has sent from the first three days of work this week.
Day 1
After a warm welcom, the work begins in the ACFFC workshop with a session of designing and fabricating a school of fish, mounting them on mesh. The kids are already primed and ready and have an entire project under their belts. This time, they managed to create 30+ fish, mounting them on mesh in under two hours.
Day 2
Day two we took a small group to the wall to explain design transfer in detail. Drawing the design on the wall combines transfer from studio sketches plus improvisation.
Dolphins drawn by Charles and Bruno and Lasiren (Mermaid) by Fan Fan
Chat rouge (Octopus)
Adhering the mosaic fish is accompanied by direct setting of broken tiles into the outlines
Day 3
Mosaic mounting on the wall has begun. Mural is 99% designed by ACFFC youth - Yay! Background will be dark blues and aqua and white. White moon and big mirror stars are not drawn on yet. "A demain" (til tomorrow)
Laurel and Erin's stay ends Saturday, so much remains to be done. She has promised an interview one evening, which will air later on the MOSAIC OF ART.
Handmade fish tiles donated by ROBIN INDAR of Rebel Tiles in No. California.
Other ceramic artists sent fish too!
La Sirene (the Mermaid)
I love this pic so much. Everyone working so hard! It's 100 degrees easily. So hot- li fay cho. Learning kreyol little by little ;)We finished all the mosaic setting today. Miraculous. Seriously. Two days on wall. Absolutely awesome group of professionals. T. Charles will do a painted frame around mural. We'll continue with left and right sides on Thursday.
Grouted
ACFFC youth taking measurements for design mapping of carnival procession mosaic wall (because that's what's up next!) Tonight, Friday - it's PARTY TIME!
Stay tuned, there's more to come. See Erin's blogpost for even more pics.