Envisioning the Quake Mosaic

In these four images below, you can see how the mosaic design has started to come to life.

SM WEB QM Image_Grid-Design_only.jpg

Above: The original Quake Mosaic Design, which I gridded out and printed to scale onto 406 separate 11” x 17” sheets of paper. Then in community workshops, each artist was given one random paper ‘section’ and asked follow the colors indicated (ie, blue area on the paper = mosaic material in any blue they like). There were only two exceptions: the gray stripes in the design indicated not gray mosaic but ‘anything goes’ areas - to be filled with any mosaic donations the artist wanted; and the white circle areas were to be filled with broken mirror shards. Other than that, the rest of the decisions were up to each artist.

QM Map with Xs as of 07.20.jpg

Above: The Quake Mosaic Schematic. Here is the design gridded into the 406 equal sections. I printed each section onto 11” x 17” sheets with the help of Frye’s Printing. I posted this schematic at every mosaic workshop. When an artist finished their 11” x 17” section, they would place an ‘X’ over it.

SM WEB QM Grid Finished Sections.jpg

Above: All of the finished mosaic sections (about 390), digitally laid out on the design grid. There are still about 20 sections left to be built.

Above: Showing the design underneath the completed sections, we can imaging what the Quake Mosaic might look like once it is completed and installed.

Cal Poly + GSM Landscape Architects

Since 2016, Gretchen Stranzl McCaan of GSM Landscape Architecture, Inc. has been an invaluable project partner. For two semesters, she has utilized the Quake Mosaic as a ‘real world’ assignment to her advanced landscape architecture students at Cal Poly. We made this video to introduce the potential ‘site’ to the students. The area is owned by Zapolski Real Estate and is planned to be developed as part of First Street Napa, an outdoor shopping mall in downtown Napa.

This time, her entire Spring 2020 class travelled to Napa from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to see the site and hear about the project in person. In March 2020, Kristina also travelled to Cal Poly to review the final student presentations along with Vin Smith from the City of Napa.