The Archie Bray Foundation celebrates 65 years with this mosaic mural designed by Laurel True.
The Archie Bray Foundation invited mosaic artist Laurel True of True Mosaics Studio to design and create a public community mural in downtown Helena, in homage of its 65th anniversary as “… a fine place to work” for ceramic artists. The mural was unveiled in September and is now view for the public in the Fountain Plaza at the Great Northern Town Center in downtown Helena.
In July, True was a two-week visiting artist at the Bray and led a five-day hands-on workshop to install the commemorative mosaic mural. Workshop participants explored the methodology and techniques for approaching community-based mosaic projects under the guidance of True, who addressed project creation, community engagement and design development, along with project facilitation and management. In addition to the nine workshop participants, nine community members volunteered over 450 hours to create the mural, which measures 7’ x 15.5’.
The design was developed in tandem with the Bray staff, and reflects the values, aesthetics and key imagery of the Archie Bray Foundation over the past 65 years while highlighting iconic features of the Bray and the Helena landscape.
True is an artist, educator and community builder based in New Orleans. She has been creating architectural, public and community-based art for almost 25 years.
True works with ceramic, glass, mirrors and recycled building materials such as brick, concrete and asphalt to create mosaic murals and sculptural forms.
She is the co-founder of the Institute of Mosaic Art in California and has fostered education in the mosaic arts through teaching and lecturing around the world. She is also the founding director of The Global Mosaic Project and is the creative director for the Art Creation Foundation for Children, an arts-based organization in Jacmel, Haiti.
Support for this project comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerry Metcalf Foundation and Alan and Nancy Nicholson. The ceramic tile was donated by Quarry Tile of Spokane.
The Archie Bray Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the enrichment of the ceramic arts, located at 2915 Country Club Ave. in Helena. Learn more at www.archiebray.org.