Inch by inch, the tiles of time will tell our town's tale.
The Prince George Potters' Guild is connecting the dots for Canada's 150th birthday, calling on the public to make little marks that add up into a major statement about who we are on this occasion in time. It will also be put together for a permanent art installation inside CN Centre.
For the past few months the guild has been holding open painting events so people can adorn a small tile, four inches by four inches, with any image that expresses their connection to Prince George. Almost 1,400 of them have been adorned this way.
"The community response has been absolutely fantastic," said Karen Heathman, one of the guild's helpers of the project. "People have been just thrilled to participate and people showed up in droves at many of these events and it was really exciting and satisfying for us in the potters guild to see that warm reception."
Each image was a personal expression - some kind of representation of appreciation for Prince George, the lifestyle of this city, the way the city impacts who we are. Each one stands on its own but together they will turn into another expression again, the way a patchwork quilt is many bits of fabric that forms into a strong blanket.
The tiles will be laid together to form a nine-foot by 20-foot installation at the city's main arena where the public will have close contact and frequent ability to look at the final results.
"They will be installed directly on one of the walls of the concourse," said Heathman. "They presented us with three options and we looked them over and all three were fine with us, so the arena people are making that choice and it will be permanent."
The tiles were painted by members of the public at a variety of places since the project began in spring. The guild members then did all the work - glazing, firing in kilns, storage, etc. - to get each one ready to take its place in the patchwork image. None, said Heathman, was more instrumental in the project than Joanne Mikkelsen.
It's not the only such project. A patchwork tile installation is also underway in the hands of Two Rivers Gallery. BMO KidzArt Dayz was one of the principle venues where tiles were decorated for this additional initiative.
The gallery's tiles are set for a similar fate. They will be installed as an art wall in the Kin Centre complex right next door to the guild's art wall at CN Centre.
The installation dates for both these tile projects have yet to be announced.
"We will do a public event for the installation where people can see what the community has done and people can come see the ones they did inside the bigger thing, because when it's just one, you have no idea how its going to appear with all the others," said Heathman. "I think people will be interested in the big picture and also the small pictures."
