Mosaic Marathon

Many SAMA members are interested in public art mosaics, and as a part of the Mesa Conference they tackled the topic in a new and ambitious way. Longtime SAMA member Kim Emerson led two workshops on large-scale architectural mosaics. Kim has been the recipient of SAMA’s "Best Architectural" prize for the past two year SAMA juried exhibitions.

SAMA members fabricated a series of five panels which Kim designed after meeting with our "client." Our generous corporate sponsors provided  the necessary materials, which include Quarry Ceramic Tile, hammers and hardies, mosaic tape, sub-strates, thin-set and grout. 

We followed Kim's method of face-taping the design and thinsetting it to panels. We donated the finished panels to Southwest Human Development, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of creating a positive future for young children. To learn more about SWHD go to http://www.swhd.org/ . The mosaic panels were mounted on the exterior wall of SWHD’s four-story building in Phoenix.