This project is the first anamorphic (3D effect) LithoMosaic for the skaters to feel like they are jumping a canyon. It was done by a drawing technique that chalk artists use to make something appear 3D when looking through a lens.
Background
The City of Phoenix chose Perry Park to go through a dramatic improvement. Part of the improvement was to incorporate art work into the new design of the park. They put out solicitations to apply to be the artist. Lisa Bernal Brethour was one of 60 applicants and was awarded the design.
Lisa’s design was two parts: A vertical element where she worked with cutting out shapes in steel to create shade for the users of a skate park and a horizontal element where she chose to use ceramic tile embedded in concrete to create mosaics.
A year earlier, as an artist, Lisa paid for and attended a training put on by Robin Brailsford. Robin invented and patented a process for putting ceramic tiles in wet uncured monolithic concrete flatwork. Her patented product is called LithoMosaiacs.
Lisa’s contract with the City of Phoenix was only for the design process, and so she contracted Robin Brailsford and her partner Wick Alexander to create the large LithoMosaics for the park. Lisa received permission from the city to create 4 smaller path markers for the park. This process of creating the mosaics took several months and two trips to Southern California to pick up the artwork from Robin and Wick. The artwork was stored at the city of Phoenix until the general contractor, Valley Rain, was ready for them to be installed. Progressive Hardscapes installed the artwork in concrete while Lisa helped with position and any loose tiles that may have come unglued. Once the concrete was cured, Progressive Hardscapes did a light acid wash to the art pieces.
Robin Brailsford never was able to come and see her work at Perry Park. She passed away in March from a stroke. Progressive Hardscapes and Lisa Bernal Brethour are both proud to have been involved in one of her last masterpieces.
