Letter of Interest
I am a Ceramic Artist, licensed General Contractor, certified Biology and General Science Teacher. My ceramic murals reflect my deep connection with the natural world, my commitment to community built projects, and my integration of art with construction. Through my work, I hope to bring to others a similar sense of reverence, respect, community, and beauty.
My bas relief murals are made of hand cut geometric tile pieces. The murals tell stories. I explore elliptical masses using form to define space and color to define time.
Currently I am building precast concrete benches with imbedded ceramic murals for install at the Fresno Art Museum. Work in progress is included in this application.
Receiving Fresno’s Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Grant as well as California Arts Council Emerging Artist Fellowship Grant were career highlight as an aspiring artist. I have led multiple community build ceramic mural projects at Manchester Gate Elementary School, University High School, and UPholding’s Butterfly Gardens Housing Development. As a General Contractor I received congressional awards for a historic home restoration. In teaching I integrate art and science. I currently teach ceramics at University High School and Clay Hands Studio.
I am deeply committed to using art to define the public sphere. My community built public art, historic building restorations, and ceramic teaching all reflect these values. I bring extensive experience collaborating with architects, contractors, artists, designers, students, and the public. Together we can create space that guides a conversation of environmental stewardship.
Proposal - Cheek Wall Medallions
I propose installing 2ft diameter ceramic medallions embedded into the side(s) of the 2ft- 7in wide x 3ft - 7in tall stairwell facing the bocce ball courts. Visually the murals will be tied together with harmonious colors. Intellectually they will represent aspects of native California wildlife. I offer six (6) options. The theme of each medallion will be as follows: 1st - Blue Heron; 2nd - Sierras; 3rd - Wildflowers; 4th - Monarch Butterflies; 5th - Tree of Life (autumn colors); 6th - Chinook Salmon.
Medallion Construction
Medallion construction will happen at Clay Hands Studio in Fresno, California. Tile pieces that make the medallion(s) will be thinset and grouted directly onto the chamfered Cheek Walls.
Apprentices Josie Valtierra and Hannah Von Ah will assist in all aspects of construction and installation.
Process
To make my ceramic murals I roll out a canvas of clay 1/2in thick. The design is drawn onto the canvas and clay is added and subtracted as needed. Mural is cut into small tile geometric tile pieces polished, bisque fired, glazed, and glaze fired. Tile pieces are then re-assembled into mural form, thinset onto a cementitious substrate, and grouted. Typically I have fifty (50) geometric tile puzzle pieces per square foot.
Vandalism Deterrent
Cheek Walls will have 1in chamfers that fit the footprint of the medallion(s). Murals will be set into these chamfers and sit flush with the concrete. Insetting the mural will make vandalism more difficult and unintentional damage less likely.
Artist - Contractor Coordination
Artist will make 1in plywood footprint of the medallion(s) and bring them on site. Artist will screw plywood footprints onto the inside of the concrete forms. Contractor will assemble forms, pour, strip the forms, and finish concrete. Finished tiles will be transported from Clay Hands Studio, delivered, thinset and grouted into the chamfered concrete in Fremont.
As I am a General Contractor, we can discuss my building the forms, making the rebar cage, pouring, stripping the forms, and finishing the concrete. Sub-grade preparation will be responsibility of the On-Site Contractor.
Medallion 1 - Blue Heron
Greenware image of heron holding a California
poppy will be the image on the medallion (right).
Coloring of the medallion will be that of the
image (left).
Medallion 2 - Sierras
The medallion (left) will be expanded upon with
one of the Sierra Nevada sub ranges I am
working on in Bench Series 2. Variations of
marshland and the river systems (left) will used.
Medallion 3 - Wildflowers
The California wildflowers I am currently exploring in the native flower portraits in Bench Series 2 will be used to create this medallion. Coloring of the flowers will be analogous to complimentary to the background.
Medallion 4 - Monarch Butterflies
Medallions will be similar in form and color to
images shown.
Medallion 5 - Tree of Life
I will use the medallion of the Valley
Oak to represent the Tree of Life
(left). Autumn coloring will be
explored. I use this species
because of its lobed leafs and
dramatic form (right).
Valley oaks are endemic to Central
California and some coastal regions.
95% of this species has been lost due to human pressure. They grow to 70ft tall, have a canopy spanning 70ft, and send a tap root down to 70ft to access ground water. They live up to 400 years, and represent the climax state of the California’s oak/ grassland ecosystem. The native Yokut tribes used acorns from this species as part of their diet.
Medallion 6 - Chinook Salmon
This mural celebrates the Chinook Salmon and brings public awareness to this once abundant species. To the right is an initial greenware exploration of a chinook salmon. Elliptical gestational studies of Chinook life from egg to hook nose will be explored in the medallion.
Chinook Salmon once made their way from the Pacific Ocean through the San Francisco Bay, and into the tributaries of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. According to the native Mono peoples, the San Joaquin River was once a tapestry of chinook salmon so thick you could walk across their backs. Due to severe habitat loss, dams, and human impact, their populations are only a fraction of what they were pre-industrialization.
Herculean efforts are currently underway to preserve this species.
Proposal - Precast Benches
I propose installing precast concrete benches with embedded chromatic bas relief ceramic murals on the side. Benches within each groupings can vary in size from two (2), three (3), and four (4) ft diameters. Bench grouping 1 will focus on blue herons and cranes commonly found through out the San Francisco Bay estuary. Bench grouping 2 explores the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the fields of wildflowers they support. Group 3 celebrates the monarch butterfly migration from Central America through the San Francisco Bay Area and into Canada.
Benches will sit 2ft above grade, be fiberglas and rebar reinforced, weigh +/- 500lbs per 1ft diameter, and sit on a level surface prepared by the contractor. The side of the bench will be ringed by a 1ft tall x 1in deep chamfer set 4in below the side/top interface. This allows the mural to sit flush with the concrete, and allows for an 8in cement kick- plate below the mural. Image shown is a rendition of the chamfered bench without the mural.
Precast benches will be formed, rebar reinforced, and poured with a 3/8in pea gravel - fiberglass infused - bone white concrete mix. Mural will be molded, cut into tiles, bisque fired, glazed, and glaze fired to Cone 6. Tile pieces will be thinset and grouted to the inset chamfers. Tile and bench will be suitable for out of doors installation. Clay used will be Laguna 1/2 & 1/2 due to its low moisture absorption and exterior durability. Skateboard deterrents will be installed around top/side interface.
All aspects of construction will happen at Clay Hands Studio in Fresno, California. Apprentices Josie Valtierra and Hannah Von Ah will assist in construction. Finished benches will be picked up from Clay Hands Studio, transported, delivered, and placed on site in Fremont. Artist will supervise.
Placement
All sites must be accessible to lift benches from the transport truck and place on site by forklift.
Bench Pad and ADA Access
The City of Fremont is responsible for all site pad preparation to hold +/-500lbs/1ft diameter at the bench locations. They are also responsible for all sub grade and ADA access requirements around the benches. I suggest three options.
Option 1 - Permanent: Dig a hole 1ft in diameter beyond diameter of bench x 1ft-8in.
Reinforce with 8in tall rebar cage. Pour foundation concrete 1ft tall. In studio, extend bench base by 8in. Place bench on foundation so exposed bench sits at 2ft above grade. Backfill with gravel around bench and install final grade material to meet ADA requirements.
Option 2 - Movable: Dig sub-grade to 5ft x 1ft. Compact dirt. Apply sand and aggregate base compacting every 2in of lift. Install final grade material to meet ADA requirements. Place bench on final grade material.
Option 3 - Movable: No site preparation is required if the City of Fremont determines the benches can be placed on existing site pads.
Style and Color
The polished concrete of the benches will be bone white with ‘sparkles’ of quartz. Colors of the mural will be harmonious and chromatic to contrast against light color of the polished precast concrete frame. The mural will ‘pop’ out of the concrete frame. The circular construction of the benches mirrors the elliptical masses of my murals and medallions I am currently exploring.
To make my ceramic murals I roll out a canvas of clay 1/2in thick. My design is drawn onto the canvas and clay is added and subtracted as needed. Mural is cut into small tile geometric tile pieces polished, bisque fired, glazed, and glaze fired. Tile pieces are then re-assembled into mural form, thinset onto a cementitious substrate, and grouted. There are usually fifty (50) tile pieces per one (1) sqft mural.
All mural concepts shown below can be modified to fit a two (2), three (3), and four (4) ft diameter bench.
Bench Series 1 - Blue Heron & Cranes
Fremont sits on one of the largest estuaries in the world, the San Francisco Bay. It is home to millions of migratory and permanent avian residents. I propose using blue herons and cranes to represent this ecosystem.
The series alternates between four (4) 1ft x 1ft portraits and four (4) 1ft x 2ft-2.5in action scenes of birds in flight in decreasing size over a marsh scene. Total mural dimensions on a four (4) ft diameter bench will be 12ft-6in x 1ft. Above are images of the work in progress arranged as they will be on the mural: left - greenware portrait; mid - glazed action; right glazed portrait.
Final color of mural will be that of image to the right with minor adjustments.
Video to the left is the mural in various stages of green and bisque ware.
Mural is meant for install on a 4ft diameter bench at the Fresno Art Museum.
This mural or aspects of it will be used on the bench(s) in Fremont.
Bench Series 2 - Sierras and Wildflowers
Sierras and Wildflowers mural will pay homage to the mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada and the watershed it feeds. This watershed that allows millions of birds to pass through on their migration routes, it is the source of the Central Valley’s billion dollar farm industry, and it is the reason so many are able to call the San Francisco Bay Area home.
The mural will show the various mountain within the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range that create the watershed for the San Francisco Bay. A ribbon of Blue Rutille will flow from the mountains through rivers out the Delta, and into the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Mountains with in the Sierra Nevada range will be the Great Western Divide (Sequoia/ Kings Canyon), Cathedral (Yosemite - Tuolumne Meadows), Clark Range (Yosemite - Valley), and the Sierra Crest (Mt. Whitney).
The series will follow the concepts in Bench Series 1 by alternating between four (4) 1ft x 1ft native flower portraits and four (4) 1ft x 2ft-2.5in Sierra Nevada mountain scenes. Total mural dimensions on a four (4) ft diameter bench will be 12ft-6in x 1ft.
All examples shown below are in preliminary studies for this project and therefore subject to many changes. They are shown for concept only. I am beginning this project in May for the second bench to be installed at the Fresno Art Museum. Below (left) is a study of mountains surrounding Fresno. Below (right) is a study of the San Joaquin River in Fresno’s foothills.
Bottom three are studies of California poppies.
Bench Series 3 - Monarch Butterflies
This mural will be continuous gestational
action studies of monarchs in flight.
Colors of monarchs and background will
match those on the images shown.
A majority of the immigrants in the Bay
Area are migrants with strong ties to their
home countries. Monarch butterflies
make an annual migration from the
forested mountains of Mexico to as far
north as Canada. During this annual
migration they pass through the San
Francisco Bay Area. Just as the butterflies share the chromatic colors of Central America with the Bay Area, immigrants integrate their culture and colors with the Bay Area. This series is a celebration of this richness.
Alternate Benches Series 4 & 5
Medallion 5 - Tree of Life and Medallion 6 - Chinook Salmon as described in Cheek Wall proposal can be used in bench form. If the Fremont committee is interested, these concepts will be developed for bench installation.
2ft Diameter Medallion
Price Per - $5,354
Price per medallion includes mural construction, plywood footprint, footprint install on interior of concrete form, mural thinset and grouted to Cheek Wall chamfer. The price allows for three (3) Tile Setters for two (2) days work on site at prevailing wage for medallion(s) install. It also accounts for one (1) day of work on site with the artist installing the plywood footprint to the inside of the forms.
Pre-Cast Concrete Benches
$23,664 - Price Per 4ft Diameter
$17,748 - Price Per 3ft Diameter
$11,832 - Price Per 2ft Diameter
$3300 - Transport & Delivery
Price per bench includes precast bench construction, mural construction, mural thinset and grouted to bench, delivery, and placement. Estimate includes one day for delivery and placement of all benches. Multiple deliveries will be charged accordingly. Bench groupings can be made in any number of combinations.
Order Options
This bid is set up for the Fremont committee to pick, choose, and combine the two (2) options:
medallions and benches. See examples below.
Example Order 1
Example Order 2
642 East Griffith Way
Fresno, California 93704
T (559) 709-8702
[email protected]
carvedclay.net
Profile
I want to create public art that facilitates community pride and an understanding of the natural world.
Art
Owner, Carved Clay: Fresno, CA; 2014-present
Public Art
Fresno Art Museum; Fresno, CA; Heron and Sierra concrete benches. In progress Butterfly Gardens Fresno, CA. Community built butterfly murals 2023 University High School; Fresno, CA. Student built butterfly/heron murals. 2022/23 Manchester Gate Elementary School; Fresno, CA. Student built murals. 2019/21 Sales
Clay Hands Studio; Fresno, CA; 2025-Present
Arts Alive in Agriculture; Fresno, CA 2024-Present
Edward Lund Foundation; Fresno, CA 2023-Present
Fig Garden Home Owners Association; Fresno, CA; 2015-Present Chris Sorenson Studio; Fresno, CA 2019-21
Craneway Craft Fair; Richmond, CA; 2017
Johnson Residence; Fresno, CA; 2016
Ricks Residence; Fresno, CA; 2015
Zirul Residence; Fresno, CA; 2014
Awards
Expanded Access to Arts and Culture; Grant Recipient, Emerging Artist 2025-26 Clean Stormwater Grant - Grant Recipient 2019/21/25
California Arts Council; Recipient Individual Artist Fellowship, Emerging Artist. 2023 Established Carved Clay to work in conjunction with my contracting business. Currently building concrete benches with imbedded ceramic murals for install at the Fresno Art Museum. Created community/student built murals at Butterfly Gardens Housing Development, Manchester Gate Elementary, and University High. Commissioned to design, develop, and install cut ceramic tile fireplace surrounds in private homes. david roberts
642 East Griffith Way
Fresno, California 93704
T (559) 709-8702
[email protected]
carvedclay.net
Construction
Contractor, RedCon General Contracting; Fresno, CA; 2003-Present Journeyman, Paragon; Richmond, CA; 1991-92, 2000-03
Project Engineer, Barry Swenson Builder; Santa Cruz, CA; 1999-01 Apprentice, William T. Roberts Company; Berkeley, CA; 1985-96 Currently a General Contractor specializing in historic home restorations and custom cabinetry. Developed carpentry skills on multi-million dollar homes. Gained management experience building residence halls at California State University of Monterey Bay.
Awards: 2010 City of Fresno Historic Preservation Award for Outstanding Adaptive Reuse of a Residential Building
Integrated Science and Art Teacher
Clay Hands Studio (All Ages); Fresno, CA 2025-Present
University High School (9-12); Fresno, CA 2022-Present
Sage Ridge School, (6-7th); Reno, NV; 1998-99
San Leandro High School, (9-10th); San Leandro, CA; 1996-98 Upward Bound, (9-10th); Oakland, CA; 1996
Currently teach hand building ceramic classes at Clay Hands Studio and University High.
Integrated art with science to teach low income, first generation, college bound public school students. Opened the science department at Sage Ridge Private School.
Conservation Biology
Community Organizer, Fresno Unified School District; Fresno, CA; 2010-Present Paid Intern, Russian Academy of Sciences; Irkutsk, Russia; 1993-94 Intern, Tahoe/Baikal Institute; Lake Tahoe, CA; 1993
Intern, Bermuda Biological Station for Research; Bermuda; 1992 Facilitate the planting of Valley Oaks in the Fresno Unified School District. Collaboratively wrote an interpretive brochure for Pre-Baikalsky National Park in Irkutsk, Russia.
Researched coral bleaching in Bermuda.
642 East Griffith Way
Fresno, California 93704
T (559) 709-8702
[email protected]
carvedclay.net
Education
Fresno Community College, Studio Art, Fresno, CA 2023-Present Extended Teacher Education, Exploratorium Institute, San Francisco, CA; 1999 Teaching Credential, Mills College, Oakland, CA; 1996
Environmental Exchange, Tahoe Baikal Institute, Irkutsk, Russia; 1993 BA Marine Biology/Art, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA; 1992 East-West Marine Biology, Washington, Jamaica, MA; 1991 Shrimp Maui, Maui HI, 1990
College Courses, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA; 1987-88 Publications
Roberts, David. “Africa 1994: Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi.” Konch, Fall 1994, #7: 15-24 Pribaikalsky State National Nature Park. University of California Natural Reserve System for the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, 1994.
References
John Toki, Ceramic Artist, 642 Spring Street, Richmond CA 94804. (559) 990-2769. [email protected]. [email protected]
Principal Jeffie Hickman, University High School, 2611 East Matoian Way, SM/UH134, Fresno CA 93740. (559) 278-8263. [email protected]
Work Samples
1.Monarch Butterfly
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 2’ x 2’
Material: Clay - Amaco Bone White; Glaze - Spectrum Shino; Steel Frame Cone: 5
Year: Multiple: 2023-2025
Description: One of several gestational study on monarch butterflies in flight. Various private sales. Prototype for three community built murals. Two student built murals constructed at Fresno State with students from University High School (UHS) were auctioned at UHS’s Phoenix Phling. Third community built mural was built and installed by residents of Butterfly Gardens Housing Development.
2. Oak Woodland in Walnut Cabinetry
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 6’ x 9’
Material: Clay - Dixon Sculptural; Glaze - Tenmoku and VC Cone: 6
Year: 2017
Price: $30,000
Description: Mural of valley oak woodland framing a view of the San Joaquin River looking into the Sierras. Blue Herons set into the landscape. Mural installed into 22’ of walnut cabinetry with fire insert. Private commission.
3. Valley Oak
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 2’ Diameter
Material: Clay - Amaco 1/2 & 1/2, Glaze - Shino, Cone 5; Steel Frame
Cone: 5
Year: 2024/25
Description: Valley Oak is the first in a series of color studies. 95% of these endemic keystone species have
been cut down. The series is meant to bring awareness of the San Joaquin Valley's original landscape. Used as a prototype for student built murals at Fresno schools.
4. Blue Heron
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 8’ x 8’ x 4”
Material: Clay - Amaco Bone White; Glaze - Shino
Cone: 6
Year: 2022
Description: Bas relief image of a blue heron holding a poppy over a marsh ecosystem. The piece was built to
honor the wildlife of California wetlands.
Community Built: Students from University High School
(UHS) helped build Blue Heron during their two week
Intersession. The unfinished piece was transported to the artist’s studio for further development. Students helped glaze bisque tiles in studio. The mural is being donated to Lake County for installation on a historic building.
5. Merlot
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 5’ x 6’
Material: Clay - Dixon Sculptural; Glaze Amaco Potters Choice Cone: 5
Year: 2018
Price: $10,000
Description: Grape vines. Private commission.
6. Towani Pine
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 6’ x 9’
Material: Clay - Laguna Half and Half; Glaze - Amaco
Potters Choice
Cone: 6
Year: 2018
Price: $20,000
Description: Mural of the San Joaquin Valley extending into the Sierras framed by a towani pine. Private
commission.
7. Valley Oak - Student Built
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 10’ x 10’
Material: Clay - Laguna Half and Half; Glaze - Shino; Mosaic - Coem Signum Porcelain Cone: 6
Year: 2021
Price: $8,000
Description: Community built bas relief image of a valley oak. Installed at entry of Manchester Gate Elementary School in Fresno, California. Funded by the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District and the Fresno Unified School District. During COVID, sixth grade students (200) designed, built, and glazed tile pieces. Students and I organized leaves into mural form.
8. Concrete Benches - Work in Progress
Medium: Ceramic
Size: Two (2) 1’ x 12’-6” murals imbedded into two (2) concrete bench 4’ diameter x 2’ tall Material: Clay - Laguna Half and Half; Glaze - Amaco .
Cone: 6
Year: 2026
Description: The San Joaquin River is home to millions of migratory and permanent avian residents. In the first mural I explore elliptical masses using blue herons and cranes to represent this ecosystem. The series alternates between four (4) 1ft x 1ft portraits and four (4) 1ft x 2ft action scenes of birds in flight. The project is funded by the Fresno’s Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Grant as well as the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District’s Clean Stormwater Grant. The second mural will be of similar scope and will explore the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges that define the Central Valley’s watershed.
9. Bonner Adobe
Medium: Ceramic
Size: 8” x 12”
Material: Clay - Dixon Sculptural; Glaze Amaco Potters Choice
Cone: 5
Year: 2020
Price: $850
Description: Historic home address plaque. Shown to
give an example of custom address plaques made for
Fresno neighborhoods. Private commission.
10. Historic Kump House
Year: 2010
Budget: $1,000,000
Description: Included to showcase my work as a
General Contractor. My specialty is finish
carpentry. Completely rehabbed and restored a
historic house in Fresno’s Tower District built in
1916. Received Mayoral, Congressional, and
Senatorial recognition for the restoration and
adaptive reuse of a residence.