A large outdoor mosaic created by 15 students nearly two decades ago has seen better days, but the artwork could be getting a facelift soon.
“It’s in pretty bad shape. The weather has caused tremendous damage this winter. There may have also been some vandalism,” said Cathryn Atkinson, a trained mosaicist who is on the public art committee for the District of Squamish.
The mosaic, which is at Stan Clarke Park across from municipal hall, cost around $100,000 to make and was originally constructed to beautify downtown and bring the community closer together. Thousands of small ceramic tiles pieces are used to create images of the mountains, animals, climbers and other local scenes.
Further investigation is needed to determine how and when the mosaic could be repaired. An engineer will likely be needed to look at the extent of the damage.
“Personally, I think the level of skill in the designs is very high. It’s a lovely piece. Many pieces are beautiful,” Atkinson told The Chief.
Earlier this month she visited the mosaic and could easily pick up a pocketful of loose pieces. Some sections will likely need to be totally restored or repaired, and the entire artwork needs to be sealed.
“If we do nothing about this, in a couple years there won’t be a lot left. That would be a shame because it was a huge community project.”
In 1998, a group of 15 students asked businesses, organizations, families and individuals to buy the mosaic squares as donations to help build the project. Along with the help of local artists, the youth created images that represented each group.
To help fund the project back then, Youth Services Canada provided a $100,000 grant and Youth Options B.C. funded 50 per cent of the wages for five teens.
“I recommend repairing it this summer, or no later than 2018,” said Atkinson.
The public art committee sets aside funds every year to do restorations.
“Once we know more about options and costs for those options we can make a decision,” Mayor Patricia Heinztman told The Chief, adding that she thinks the project is beautiful but could be very expensive to fix depending on if some of its foundation needs to be redone. “We need to ascertain the extent of the freeze thaw heave that happened this year. It’s 18-plus years old so it has faired pretty well until this year.”
