Monday, October 11, 2010

Mosaic Monday / In My Backyard ( almost )

White Rock Lake
( ok ... not really my backyard )

I live in a tiny 1948 bungalow in old East Dallas. The best part of my home is the location. We are very close to White Rock Lake and we take the pups there every weekend. I often refer to the lake as "my backyard" because it is a short walk and an even shorter drive from our neighborhood. The lake encompasses a large area with many wooded trails and a lot of nice sidewalk areas. Several months ago I discovered a lovely spot along the shoreline with mosaics. The initials on the mosaic are SK, and in Dallas that usually means Sonia King, I looked it up on-line and sure enough it is one of her public projects. Yesterday afternoon we took the pups over there to get some shots to share on the blog. You can also see installation pics on Sonia's web site.



 "Our Boy Ajax Above"
Names of Patrons

I was rather perturbed to discover that someone had tagged the work with graffiti.  I'll have to ask my teacher what will remove it and try to get back over there soon with sponge and cleaner to remove the vandalism. I usually have no problem with graffiti on train cars, metal fencing or other boring surfaces, but it is like a knife in the eyeball when you see it on someone's beautiful mosaic work.  I guess that is a risk with any outdoor public project in a large city... it is a pity.


You can see more of Sonia King's mosaics at http://www.mosaicworks.com/

4 comments:

Christine Brallier said...

Oh what a beautiful park! I want to live there!! Yes, pity about the graffiti. But did you notice it was limited at least? :) It appears they were "trying" to use restraint, LOL. I wonder if Sonia sealed it with some kind of anti graffiti sealant, which would make it easier to get off the tiles. Good luck!

artpaw said...

I dunno, I should e-mail her about it before I start trying any harsh cleaners.

Thanks yes, it is a lovely place, we are very lucky to live so close. The only reason I would move and stay in Dallas would be to get closer to the lake. There are some amazing and pricey homes right next to it ... maybe some day.

Sonia King said...

Hey, thanks for the nice post! I did this small project a while back because I grew up about a block from Plaza Solana :-) The city was going to seal it but it should clean off the tile pretty easily. Kind regards, Sonia

artpaw said...

Hi Sonia. We love getting over to that end of the lake on Sundays, I'll check in on it next time I am by and take a sponge. The view from that patio area is just lovely and your work makes it an extra special spot. I have been wanting to explore and photograph public mosaics in town and thought why not start close to home.