1 Katy Krantz
11029 Washington Boulevard Art Project—Phase II
Tile Mosaics in Five Trapezoid Shaped Niches
Overview
For Phase II of the art activation at the city owne d property at 11029 Washington Blvd, I propose activating the five trapezoid niches on the buildin g with ceramic and glass mosaics. The mosaics will be comprised of a combination of salvaged tile, mir ror and handmade elements made by community members at a series of workshops.
Community members will be invited to create tiles that reflect their feelings about the building— what it was and what it might become. Like the “Dear Culver City” project currently installed at City Hall, these workshops will center around positive visioning for the future and what the community perceives that it needs. Using stamps and found objects, participant s will make impressions in wet clay to create the textured tiles. Workshop sites will include Fiesta La Ballona, the Art Walk and Roll Festival and La Ballona Elementary’s Fall Festival, among other community sites. *
In addition to handmade community tiles, the mosaic s will also feature small handmade ceramic vessels. These vessels will be about two inches hi gh by about an inch wide and will add a dynamic three-dimensional quality to the work. They can be left empty, or they can be filled with fresh or dr ied flowers. Adding a living element to my mural work is something I have been engaged with for years and reiterates the existing themes of nature, hope and growth in the painted portion of the project.
The mosaics will be mounted on “wonder board” (a cement backing board used in tile installation) that can be removed should the building be demolished. I need a city employee to determine what is under the stucco currently filling the trapezoids and whether the wonder board can be mounted to the stucco securely. While mounting to wonder board is the preferred method, if this is determined to be unsuitable another option is to mount the tiles directly to the stucco. Going this route would mean that the mosaics would be demolished when the building is demolished.
* The community event at the site could also be the site of the last tile making workshop, assuming it is no later than 11/10.
2 Timeline
September 9, 2024: Presentation at council meeting on collecting community input. Art project is one facet of presentation.
October 5, 2024 : Art Walk and Roll Festival
November 2, 2024 : La Ballona Elementary School, Fall Festival Workshop Early November (no later than 11/10/2024): Community Event at 11029 Washington Blvd (final tile- making workshop)
December 31, 2024: Artist Laureate term ends. Mosaics must be completed and mounted by this date.
Budget
Materials
Most of the material for the mosaic will be salvaged tile and mirror from my personal stock. I would also like to collect broken pottery from the community t o use in the work. I am fond of the symbolism of taking broken shards from individuals to create a b eautiful, unified whole. Even though most of the materials will be donated, I will have some additional supply costs, listed below:
Clay 250
Underglaze 200
Clear Glaze 100
Other Glazes 250
Canvas cloths 70
Sponges 30
Wonder Boards 200
Tape 80
Thin set 140
Grout 220
Grout Bag 40
Gloves 50
Trowels 40
Buckets 30
Ram Board or another floor protector 60
Kiln Electricity 300
Total Materials: $2,060
Labor
I will waive my design and labor fees as I am being compensated via my Artist Laureate stipend.
However, I would like to work in tandem with a skilled mason for the install. I am estimating that the project will take about 8 days to install (one day to lay the tile in each of the five trapezoids and three days to grout). Day rate for a mason is $400. $400 x 8 = $3200.
Total Labor: $3,200
10% Contingency = $526
Materials + Labor + Contingency = $5,786
3 Images (Above) Example of tile mosaic with vessels circa 2020 (Below) Detail of vessel elements
4 Top: Preliminary mockup design of mosaics in niches. Design will be themed around nature, but exact design will be informed by workshops and will change .
Bottom: Site of mosaics (interiors of five trapezoid shaped niches only)