Update from Roberto Lugo

My desire to create a mosaic mural to memorialize Payne has been met with much more planning and complication than I originally considered. First, finding "The," or for that matter "A," location is complicated, because although the community is supportive of the project, few own a property that has a wall for me to work with. I’ve gone back and forth with individuals who have offered a wall, but have changed their mind for various reasons.

Meanwhile, my studio practice has been steadily churning out tiles and the ceramic elements that will be used for the mural. First, I am creating a wide array of shapes and sizes in order to fill in spaces that will present themselves during installation. The nucleus of the mural will be three centerpieces that will take the form of vessels—these vessels will provide homage to images of Payne. The color scheme is still being considered, as I wanted to ensure I had adequate tiles before continuing to pursue its colors. One element that I am still considering is whether the very center of the mural will have a vessel or a figurative sculpture of Payne.

In addition to my original plan, I am holding a “block party” in Philadelphia to allow the community to paint tiles for the mural. This addition will allow for the community to take ownership of the project and have a relationship with it. These tiles will be taken back to my studio and glazed, as well as incorporated, into the overall composition of the mural.

A special thank you to InLiquid, The Philadelphia Clay Studio, and the Kensington Community for their assistance thus far in helping me to coordinate this project.

Figure possibility for center of mural.

Jars for center of mural.

Getting Started

To begin my journey to completing the mural. I made a trip out to Philadelphia to survey possible sights that would work best for a sculptural mural. I first visited sites that were available to me through friends who were interested in supporting the project. I then met with the City of Philadelphia in order to find out what permission I would need to create this mural in a public space. The city explained that I would just need permission from the owner of the property. I was able to narrow my decision in terms of location because of the locations had an inset that would make a niche possible. 

During a second trip I met with a few fellow artist that have worked with mural projects before and got ideas on how to create a timeline and the best times of year to work. Philadelphia has a internationally renown mural arts program so and it is important to me to create a public piece of art that will pay homage to Philadelphia residents in as exceptional a way that the murals arts has done in the past. I met with InLiquid a Philadelphia organization that is interested in hosting an event where volunteers can get involved in the installation and possible create a garden alongside the mural itself. This idea is still in the beginning stages. In a meeting with Garth Johnson I found out Philadelphia will be having a mosaic mural conference and I was invited to take part in getting a better understanding of what this community could offer by attending events the Clay Studio of Philadelphia will run concurrently. 

One of the surprising elements is how many ceramic artist have shown interests in collaborating and volunteering their time to complete this piece in an exceptional way. 

Below is a picture of my drawing so far but I have to get to a scanner as I am away I do not have access. So please accept the previous writing as my "what I've done thus far" and I will be sure to get you images to support my previous steps. 

Ever Thankful, 

Roberto Lugo