A Story of a Rose, or a Public Art Happy Ending
In 2011 I was commissioned by Hillsboro Parks and Rec to create a mosaic paving for a public rose garden very near my house. The widow of one of the originators of the garden wanted to commemorate her husband in the place very dear to both of their hearts.
There was a tear-drop shaped planting bed in the middle of the paved path in the garden they thought would be a good place for a mosaic. I worked with Sandy Zajdel to design a rose mosaic in her husband Stan’s favorite rose color, red.
The mosaic was completed and installed in the summer of 2011, but the installation was fraught from the beginning. I cautioned the Parks and Rec project lead that the concrete pad I was to install on needed to be a solid and professional pour. What happened was they had some P & R employees who said they had concrete experience do the work (for no extra charge to the department, of course.) Over the course of that fall, the result proved not good. They hadn’t compacted the soil enough, and sure enough, the mosaic began to sink a little. Instead of a level paving, we now had a shallow pond in the middle of the path!
Needless to say, I was quite unhappy. Over the next couple of years, the mosaic suffered. The grout edge was cracking and tiles became loose. By 2015 I’d had enough, and lobbied the Parks and Rec, with Sandy’s backing, to tear out the failing mosaic and concrete and hire professionals to pour me a new, solid pad. I said I’d rebuild a new mosaic for just the cost of materials. For me, it was my reputation, pride in my town and neighborhood at stake!
In those intervening four years, my mosaic skills had increased quite a bit, so I was much happier with this new mosaic. Fast forward a few more years, and the city and county were planning to expand Jackson School Road, and the intersection where the garden is located was under threat of being rerouted! Everyone was unhappy about this, fearing the rose garden and mosaic would be lost. By then, I didn’t live in Hillsboro anymore, and took a philosophical position: I’d be sad if they demolished the park, but more for the rose gardeners and neighbors than for the potential loss of my mosaic.
Apparently lots of residents lobbied the city, and the plans for road expansion were altered to preserve the park! I’m impressed by the lengths the city went to preserve it during construction. They transplanted all the roses to a temporary location, and the Rose Society cared for them while the road was being completed. My mosaic remained in place, covered with plastic and coned off. I’m happy to say that the project is complete now, roses planted back, new trellises built, and once again the public can enjoy the rose garden!
I visited recently and was pleased to find my mosaic, now 7 years old, solid and undamaged. A little dirty, perhaps, with grass growing around the edges, but looking darn good!
