Collaboration. Challenge. Community- Children's Respite Room Mural
Collaboration.
I want to preface that clay, regardless of the artist's years of experience, can be unpredictable and stubborn.
In the spring of 2024, I was approached by the Clackamas County Courthouse to create a ceramic mural that would permanently reside within the Children’s Respite Room. This particular room would serve as a space for minors, particularly young children, while they anxiously await court decisions and hearings. It was requested that this mural be interactive while the children waited.
A select committee from the Clackamas County Courthouse (CCC) later established the theme. I would like to extend my gratitude to Diane Alves from the Clackamas Art Alliance, Caroline Hill, Clackamas County Policy Advisor, and Nancy Bush, Clackamas County Operations Officer, for their collaboration with me and my team during the creation of this mural. Without their support and patience, this project would not have become a physical reality.
It was decided that the mural would focus on the local fauna surrounding Clackamas County. Care was also taken to acknowledge the indigenous tribes within Clackamas County. David Harrelson, Cultural Resources Department Manager for The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, was consulted on what plants and local fauna were harvested by the indigenous tribes of the area.
The mural would undergo three ideations before settling on the final designs, which I had created. Two additional artists were asked to participate in the mural, but due to unforeseen conflicts, the previous artists had to step down from the project.
In the initial consultation of this project, a single mural or a series of murals was to fill a nine-foot-wide space. It was later decided that a total of three murals were to be constructed. Two of the murals would display a landscape scene highlighting local fauna. In contrast, the third and final mural would honor the county’s indigenous people's gather culture, which was still heavily plant-based. The two landscape murals each measured four and a half feet by four feet in size, while the smaller mural measured three and a half feet by four feet in size.
I am a production dinnerware artist by trade. I understand how to manage clay to lie flat. My art background is in illustration, design, and photography. I know how to manipulate clay to fill occupied and unoccupied space.
But I had never created an installation piece of this size.
I entered this project fully aware that it would either break me or provide an opportunity to create a Magnum Opus. While making the design plans for this mural, I knew in my gut that this project would challenge me by pushing my ceramic skills in sculpture and design. But this feeling of dread and apprehension lingered at the back of my mind.
Clay HATES lying flat.
For those who don’t routinely work with clay like I do. Clay loves gravity. Similar to a rough puff pastry or a sourdough starter. Clay needs to be babied, watched over, and constantly monitored. In the words of Paul Hollywood, from Great British Bake Off, “don’t overwork your pastry clay.” Generally, the thicker and larger the pieces, the higher the percentage of failure. Failure in clay means micro-cracking, warping, or breaking completely. I expressed this concern with the CCC Committee members, and they understood and trusted my judgment and skill in the medium.
With that, I asked Emeritus Professor Mark Terry to be my second pair of hands during this project. Mark was my professor during my time at George Fox University. He and I became close friends after I graduated from college and moved into my public teaching career. Mark is now not only a colleague, but a mentor and family friend. I knew that his experience in sculpture would be a boon to the success of this project. It was through his hard work and experience that we completed this project. Being able to work alongside him while we discussed ceramic art and process was a lifelong dream for me.
Challenging.
I was officially given the mural project in October of 2024. The mural was scheduled to be installed in April of 2025.
Days and weeks slowly ticked by as Mark and I began to build each tile piece carefully. During the initial building and planning stages, Mark suggested that the mural pieces be made into smaller pieces to decrease the chances of them breaking. Initially, each mural was going to be constructed using four forty-eight by twenty-six-inch tiles. The plan was revised so that the two larger landscape murals would consist of eight eighteen-by-twenty-two-inch tiles. The final mural would be only half the size, built with just four tiles. A total of twenty tiles were needed to complete the project. For comparison, nearly 300 lbs. of clay were used to create the tiles, while an additional 100 lbs. were used to build the imagery on top of the tiles.
All this was assuming none of the tiles broke at any point during the making, drying, firing, and finishing process.
No pressure, right?
While planning and drafting prototypes, the type of clay was heavily considered. Mark and I knew that a stoneware, a clay body with sand and grog, needed to be utilized for this project to minimize warping and cracking. Similar to flour, clay can come in many different types and colors. A stoneware clay body often has sand or grog mixed within it to give it further structural support. The clay needed to have an internal structure to withstand the pressure of hanging on a wall and to increase the fight against gravity.
After much discussion, it was decided that the mural would be monotone in color. As a permanent installation piece, an artwork’s ageability needed to be considered. Paintings generally age well with a building. Permanent installation, however, is trickier. To emulate iconic bronze and pewter statues, the murals were washed with red iron oxide and reduction-fired to make the murals appear like weathered bronze. This coloring will allow the murals to age gracefully while within a highly trafficked area.
All three murals were constructed during a very typical PNW/Oregon Winter and Spring, which means cold and wet temperatures. These conditions were in the clay artist's favor. Clay tiles of this size need to be carefully and slowly dried to prevent cracking or warping. After becoming bone dry, the tiles are then carefully loaded into a kiln to undergo an extended heating cycle to undergo quartz inversion, which is fancy clay speak for turning into stone (essentially).
By February 2025, one mural was completed, and the second was halfway finished. We were behind schedule by a month due to illness and health issues, me deciding to have a baby at the beginning of the new year, and the holiday season. To make up for this shortfall, I began working on mural tiles in the dead of night. While my family slept, I worked late into the night. On some nights, I would finish two tiles and prep another set of tiles for the following night's work session. This pattern of work continued for nearly four months.
That was until a series of challenges began arising.
One of the corner tiles in the first mural had exploded during the bisque firing, thus causing a complete redesign and redo. Our initial kiln site for finishing the tiles proved unexpectedly inaccessible within the required timeline. We were able to secure a second kiln firing site, thankfully, but Mark and I were anxious before it was confirmed.
That was until the final firing.
It was less than a week before our deadline, and we were in the final stages of firing all the tiles. When we opened the kiln that early Wednesday morning, we were greeted with failure. One of the landscape murals experienced a near 85% failure rate. Six out of eight tile pieces had cracked sometime during the second firing. Some tiles broke into many pieces, while others had split into two pieces. Over twelve hours of restoration were poured into repairing the one broken mural. You will have to look hard to discover which of the murals was cracked into many pieces.
The second landscapre mural would also experience failure, but nothing like the first one. The second mural would only have three cracked tiles, and repairs were minimal in comparison.
In the end, we were not able to make the initial installation deadline but were able to get an extension. Despite the struggle of trying to make a deadline, we communicated and stressed the importance of not rushing the process. Although we faced disappointment, we successfully delivered a product that exceeded our clients' expectations.
Mark and I working well into the night restoring and repairign the broken mural.
Community.
It was through the challenges of creating a ceramic mural that I witnessed the power of community. I am beyond grateful to have Mark work alongside me. Mark’s wisdom and knowledge in installation work allowed me to push through this project. It was through Mark’s tenacity and exuberance that he was able to secure a utility truck for us to transport the murals to the courthouse. A thank you to Lewis Audio & Video for allowing us to borrow one of the fleet trucks.
During the initial scramble to secure another kiln site, I had fellow potters suggest studios and individuals to contact. It was through these introductions that I was able to meet new people and fellow community members. Individuals were eager and willing to lend a hand without feeling like they needed compensation.
Community can come in many forms. Some experience it through neighborhood connections, some through church, book clubs, gyms, or fitness centers. My community is composed of the people that I teach and share creative space with at the Chehalem Cultural Center.
I wasn’t alone in the creation of this project; I was bolstered and uplifted. When I needed advice or counsel, I was able to reach out and receive feedback. That is the power of community.
Find a community that allows you to learn from difficulty and failure but supports you when you need it.
On the morning of May 5th, I watched the installation team hang up all three commissioned murals in the brand new Clackamas County Courthouse Children’s Respite Room, tears pricked at my eyes because it dawned on me that this moment was real.
Its sometimes in those quiet moments of success when imposter syndrome settles in. Did I do the right thing? Did I actually achieve this?
But I succeeded.
This six-month project was completed. It’s not considered a project unless many drawbacks and obstacles occur. We had many but we were able to take those happy accidents and learn how to avoid or improve upon them. Mark and I were exhausted but excited to be finally finished with the project. Our enthusiasm was felt in the quiet truck ride home after delivering the murals.
Despite the struggles and challenges, I would do it again.
I want to thank Mark Terry for being my mentor and second set of hands during this project. Without you, I literally could not have finished this project. I also want to extend my love to my husband, Derek. To the man who patiently allowed our living room to become overrun with clay tiles and tools. But especially for allowing me space to create. Love you honey.
