The Economic Power of Public Art - a new publication by CODAworx

I’m excited to have my recent project for Fort Worth Animal Care and Control featured in this new publication highlighting data and insights on the size and scope of the public art industry and how it drives community engagement and economic growth. The CODAworx mission is to demonstrate the power of public art to change the world. They provide a platform to showcase artists’ work, connect, and find opportunities.

An estimated $ 4.4 billion worth of art commissions were awarded in 2023

- CODAworx, The Economic Power of Public Art

Order a copy here. This full-color book features informative photos of international and US-based public art initiatives, loads of economic statistics, examples of best practices for sustainability and the environment, and more.

Stations of the Cross for St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic Church

After months of planning and remote design meetings, the St. Daniel project is well underway. I’ve delivered four of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, all of which were designed by my favorite design collaborator, artist Rex Kare of Kare Studios. The Design Committee consisted of Father John Ouper and two parishioners, one of whom is an artist herself. We met over Zoom links, discussing style, materials, design goals and composition. Rex was patient and responsive to our requests and ideas. We’re very happy with the end results, which are focused on the immediacy of the Passion story. Images were intentionally “cropped” to draw the viewer in as a first-person witness to Christ’s suffering.

Rex designed each station digitally, which made them easier to share and modify through the discussion. Once finalized, they were uploaded and printed commercially at full scale. I’m using the full drawings under the mosaic layers as my guide.

Fabrication process for Station One: Jesus is Condemned to Death. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd before announcing, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” The cartoon is under a clear sheet of heavy plastic, covered with fiberglass mesh. Italian glass smalti is adhered directly to the mesh with Laticrete 254 Platinum thinset. The mosaics don’t need grouting. When the mosaic is complete, the plastic is removed and the mosaic is thinset into the metal frame, again using thinset.

The heavy black lines are an intentional stylistic choice. The designs complement the contemporary style of St. Daniel’s architecture. It’s very different from my usual style - but I am enjoying the challenge!

Station One, framed. The clients requested a ruddy texture using mixed materials. I’ve incorporated sheared marble, 24k gold (in Pilate’s robe and the bowl), and transparent smalti in the water.

Detail of Christ. The crown of thorns is a series of aggressive red “xs,” outlined in black. They are so thin, I’ve used a special smalti called “contorno,” specifically made thinly for outlines and detail work.

Station Two: Jesus is Made to Bear his Cross.

Station Two detail.

Station Three: Jesus Falls the First Time.

This station was challenging because it included a silhouette of the actual church of St. Daniel the Prophet. The distinctive roofline and angles of the roof are instantly recognizable to the parishioners, further emphasizing their participation in the journey.

Station Four: Jesus Encounters Mary.

Station Five, “Simon of Cyrene is Made to Carry the Cross.”

A view of the back side before setting the mosaic into the frame. Thanks to @nanciemillspipgras for the video.

Completed Station Five: Simon of Cyrene is Made to Bear the Cross.

Station Six: Veronica Wipes Jesus’ Face

Station Seven: Jesus Falls a Second Time.

Station 8: The Women of Jerusalem Weep with Jesus.

All images and designs are © Julie Richey Mosaics, LLC 2023.

Video Tour: North Fort Worth Animal Care and Control Project Completed April, 2023

See the full story in this video tour of our most recent project, narrated by artist Julie Richey.

A video tour of the North Fort Worth Animal Care and Control campus artwork, designed and fabricated by Julie Richey Mosaics, LLC. © Julie Richey Mosaics, LLC 2023 Video by Danny Fulgencio.

Magnolia "Mags" Installed at Fort Worth Animal Care and Control

“Mags” is a very special member of my family. My daughter, Kate, adopted her from a shelter near her home in Denver. A pittie mix, “Mags” served as a model for the blue dog mosaic we created in 2022 as an iconic image for the new Fort Worth AC&C facility in Haslet, TX.

My concept was to create a site near the Adoption Center building where adopters and their new pets could take selfies before heading to their forever home. The process of creating “Mags” is shown below.

Everything starts with the concept sketch. Here’s Mags’ color profile from the back. I used this to select the smalti color palette.

The folks at Blue Genie scanned the small dog sculpture maquette, routed it with the CNC in EPS foam, and assembled it. Photo by Blue Genie Art Industries.

Here’s a cutaway view of the armature inside. It contains bolts at the bottom for easy anchoring to the pedestal. Photo by Blue Genie Art Industries

Mags received multiple coats of Laticrete 254 Platinum Thinset. Each layer contains mesh and a different color of thinset to distinguish layers. Photo by Blue Genie Art Industries.

Once she arrived in my studio, we smoothed out the rough areas with more thinset. Then we numbered the facets and created color mixes for the shadows and highlights. We used electrical tape and construction paper to experiment with placement of eyes, nose and mouth.

Paper templates allowed us to work on studio tables, surrounded by our color mixes.

Two weeks of work later, Mags was ready for her big day. Blue Genie wrapped and secured her to their trailer, and she was off to her new home.

Special thanks to Ana Foncerrada, who assisted with the Mags mosaic fabrication! Photo by Stephen L. Becker.

…and thanks to Alida Labbe, Arts Fort Worth Public Art Project and Capital Budget Manager. She keeps me on track and organized. Photo by Sylvia Wilkins.

Here’s Mags, with a collar I made for her. The cool gabion selfie bench was fabricated by Albert T. Scherbarth.

And, finally, Mags the dog meets Mags the mosaic!