The “Mosaic Bench Project” started with a series of “story circles,” where individuals from the community told stories of joy and celebration in their lives. These gatherings took place on the grounds at Applewood and at Grace Emmanuel Church. It was my role as artist to interpret these stories into a visual image that could then be turned into a mosaic bench-top. Feeling that translating a story literally into an image to be too limiting, it was decided to capture the universal themes that ran throughout the stories.
Briefly, the images, from left to right, represent family (a mother and child), brotherhood (friends looking at a light in the background, which could be anything from a bonfire to divine light) the wonder of spring and rebirth (the farmer planting vines that wrap to encompass everyone with the joys of growing things), celebrating together (two people dancing), and finally, peace and freedom (a woman releasing a dove).
