Looking at the 190 ft. by 8 ft. wall of the King Harbor Marine Center that runs along the west side of Harbor Drive, Sean Guthrie, vice president of King Harbor Marina, saw a perfect canvas for public art.Guthrie sat down with Redondo Beach artists Debbie Collette and Patti Linnett, who created the underwater-themed mosaic steps on Avenue of the Arts in Redondo Beach, and came up with six King Harbor related activities to feature on the wall in mosaic form.“We have the SEA Lab with their underwater mural and we have the whaling wall [on the AES power plant] with the underwater sea life… and that again is an underwater theme. So I said ‘Well, let’s do something about the activities that people do above the water at King Harbor,’” he said.
The six mosaic images – each made up of more than 4,000 pieces of tile, mirrors and other materials – will portray an outrigger canoe, a sailboat, a surfer, a stand-up paddle boarder, a kayaker and a fisherman, all connected by flowing waves.
Toward the south end of the wall, the artists will also construct a display from glazed ceramic tile, where sponsors of the $37,000 project will be highlighted.
To match the ocean theme, Guthrie said, California native, drought-tolerant plants will be planted beneath the mosaics that will be similar in appearance to plant life found on the ocean bed.
Project coordinator Trinity Singer said the mosaic project, coupled with the planned renovation of Harbor Drive, will significantly enhance the area.
“The more public art in the community, the better the community does,” Singer said. “It brings tourists, it beautifies the area, and I think the more beauty we have around the less likely people are going to damage the area.”
Since the project’s start in early June, two mosaics have been installed. The first to go up were the fisherman and the kayaker, each of which took close to 90 hours of work to create and install, said Collette and Linnett, who also work at Tulita Elementary School.
Linnett said most of the time is spent in the studio attaching the tiles to a fiberglass mesh. Then sections of the image are cut and applied to the wall with cement. Once the image is complete, they then fill in empty spaces with grout, getting it ready for the final stage –sealing.
With a little more creative freedom on this project, Linnett said, they have been experimenting by using different materials in their mosaics.
Guthrie and the artists said although they hope to have the project completed by the end of August before Collette and Linnett return to work at Tulita, they have encountered a few obstacles that may extend the target date.
But even though only two of six mosaics have been installed, Collette and Linnett said community feedback has already started flowing in.
“When we’re out here we get a lot of positive comments, which has made me realize that this project just crosses all boundaries,” Linnett said. “All ages make comments – kids, old people, both men and women of all ages and all races. So it’s just a really unifying thing.”
“People love public art. I think it makes them feel like more a part of their community and they appreciate it and how much it adds to their experience being out riding bikes or whatever,” she said.
There are still three sponsorship spaces available on the sponsor’s display. For more information on the project and donations contact Trinity Singer at (310) 874-8692.
