ArtStart goes Gaudi in 2006

If you happen to be strolling along The Santa Rosa Creek Prince Memorial Greenway heading west towards the Third St. R.R. Trestle and blink, you may for a moment be transported to Barcelona, Spain. The current ArtStart mosaic mural project has been completed and renowned architect & mosaic lover, Antonio Gaudi would be powerful proud!

The theme of the mosaic mural is the metamorphosis of the California Poppy. Heading the mosaic mural project is artist and tile contractor Diane Szczepanski of New World Tile Design. She is the "mosaic mentor" and lead artist of this project, which involves teaching high school art enthusiasts the fine craft of mosaic making, design, and tile setting.

The mural is fabricated in the studio, masked with mylar film, cut up into manageable sections and coded so it can easily be reassembled on the site.

This beautiful mosaic adorns the concrete retaining wall behind the Mariott Hotel along the Santa Rosa Creek Prince Memorial Greenway at 3rd St. and Wilson St. in Santa Rosa, California (SEE MAP). It tells the story of a day in the life through a season of California Poppy.

The length of the wall is 214' x 5' high on average = 1070 sq. ft. Assisted by 6 - 8 apprentices, the project has taken one year to complete. The mural was originally designed by 2004 Artstart apprentice Rachel Blodgett.

ArtStart is a non profit educational arts organization serving Sonoma County, California. ArtStart's mission is to provide job training, mentoring, and fostering life changing breakthroughs by way of a stimulating work experience in the arts for all Sonoma County youth while creating public art for our community.

For more information call (707) 823-9307 or E-mail Diane.