The artists came from Dorothy's Place, which houses people who used to be homeless, and Interim Inc.'s Breakthrough H'Art, a program that works with mentally ill people to create works of art.
"There's a stigma around mental illness and homelessness," said Katelyn Bryant, 26, art coordinator of Breakthrough H'Art and a graduate student at CSU Monterey Bay. "There's an opportunity to show that these artists are not the stigma."
The 5-foot-long mural features an MST bus pulling to a stop in front of a Salinas lettuce field, with the Spreckels silos and the mountains behind Toro Park in the background. A grant to Interim by the Community Foundation for Monterey County partially funded it.
Michael Ball, 52, a Carmel artist and a graduate of Interim Inc.'s program, designed the mosaic. He said he was inspired by the different types of people who ride together on buses, like tiles in a mosaic.
Likewise, Ball marveled at how artists with various problems came together organically to make the MST mural.
"It kind of did itself," he said. "I didn't really force anything. Everyone did what they wanted to do."
Some artists broke the square tiles into jagged, uneven pieces. Ball outlined the shapes he wanted, and the artists filled them in with the fragments.
"It's like all of us — we're all rough around the edges," said Ball. "Everyone was a piece of that mosaic. Everyone fell together like it was magic."
This is Ball's third mosaic through Breakthrough H'Art. He designed the sunflower mosaic in Sunflower Gardens in Salinas and a 9-foot-long mosaic of China Cove in Shelter Cove in Marina, both of which debuted in June. Both are in shelters for mentally ill people.
"Breakthrough H'Art does more than just mosaics," said Bryant. "The whole program is about empowering clients. It's about connecting them with creative expression and wellness."
April Edwards, who worked on the MST piece, agreed.
"I was very, very inspired by the people who came in, and the commitment they made,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only, and the hard work they put in," Edwards said. "It was a close-knit thing.
"Everyone has a lot of talent,ceramic magic cube for the medical, and this is a way to jumpstart their recovery," she said.
She said it helped her recovery from drug and alcohol and mental health problems.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems, Working together with others boosted her confidence, she said.
"I've always been creative, but I've always been critical (of my work)," Edwards said.Replacement landscape oil paintings and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. "The mosaic really gave me a lot of courage, that my art is worthy."
She plans to continue by making personal, smaller mosaics through Breakthrough H'Art.
Ball said art has also helped him find acceptance.
Usually with mental illness, "you feel like you're a bit of an outcast," he said. "But everybody who worked on that project, they feel empowered, they feel part of the community.
"It's easier to do art than to fit in to a normal work situation," said Ball. "It becomes very difficult because my thought process isn't clean. You look foolish. With art, you don't have to say anything.It's hard to beat the versatility of polished tiles on a production line. It speaks for itself. I feel like I'm a transformed person. I feel like I have self worth."
Working with art since 2001, he specializes in oil landscapes, interiors and seascapes, and his work has been featured in the American Art Gallery and the Diamante Gallery in Carmel.
"There's a stigma around mental illness and homelessness," said Katelyn Bryant, 26, art coordinator of Breakthrough H'Art and a graduate student at CSU Monterey Bay. "There's an opportunity to show that these artists are not the stigma."
The 5-foot-long mural features an MST bus pulling to a stop in front of a Salinas lettuce field, with the Spreckels silos and the mountains behind Toro Park in the background. A grant to Interim by the Community Foundation for Monterey County partially funded it.
Michael Ball, 52, a Carmel artist and a graduate of Interim Inc.'s program, designed the mosaic. He said he was inspired by the different types of people who ride together on buses, like tiles in a mosaic.
Likewise, Ball marveled at how artists with various problems came together organically to make the MST mural.
"It kind of did itself," he said. "I didn't really force anything. Everyone did what they wanted to do."
Some artists broke the square tiles into jagged, uneven pieces. Ball outlined the shapes he wanted, and the artists filled them in with the fragments.
"It's like all of us — we're all rough around the edges," said Ball. "Everyone was a piece of that mosaic. Everyone fell together like it was magic."
This is Ball's third mosaic through Breakthrough H'Art. He designed the sunflower mosaic in Sunflower Gardens in Salinas and a 9-foot-long mosaic of China Cove in Shelter Cove in Marina, both of which debuted in June. Both are in shelters for mentally ill people.
"Breakthrough H'Art does more than just mosaics," said Bryant. "The whole program is about empowering clients. It's about connecting them with creative expression and wellness."
April Edwards, who worked on the MST piece, agreed.
"I was very, very inspired by the people who came in, and the commitment they made,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only, and the hard work they put in," Edwards said. "It was a close-knit thing.
"Everyone has a lot of talent,ceramic magic cube for the medical, and this is a way to jumpstart their recovery," she said.
She said it helped her recovery from drug and alcohol and mental health problems.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems, Working together with others boosted her confidence, she said.
"I've always been creative, but I've always been critical (of my work)," Edwards said.Replacement landscape oil paintings and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. "The mosaic really gave me a lot of courage, that my art is worthy."
She plans to continue by making personal, smaller mosaics through Breakthrough H'Art.
Ball said art has also helped him find acceptance.
Usually with mental illness, "you feel like you're a bit of an outcast," he said. "But everybody who worked on that project, they feel empowered, they feel part of the community.
"It's easier to do art than to fit in to a normal work situation," said Ball. "It becomes very difficult because my thought process isn't clean. You look foolish. With art, you don't have to say anything.It's hard to beat the versatility of polished tiles on a production line. It speaks for itself. I feel like I'm a transformed person. I feel like I have self worth."
Working with art since 2001, he specializes in oil landscapes, interiors and seascapes, and his work has been featured in the American Art Gallery and the Diamante Gallery in Carmel.
没有评论:
发表评论