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Uvalde Love Community Mural

When I opened the email from Phyllis in mid January that 21 butterflies were requested from AMG members for the new community mural in Uvalde, I was instantly drawn to participate.

I have a retired James Avery butterfly pendant my mother had given me years ago and decided I wanted to follow those lines. Alithia, like several of the children loved the color purple, and she was a self proclaimed artist. I used purple mirror on the wings and gold mirror on the antennae which reminded me of a halo. To my surprise I found the dove and a little heart in my collection of tesserae and quickly incorporated them into my mosaic.

I soon found out that Wanda needed volunteers to help make and glaze tiles brought back to her Austin studio every two weeks from their art therapy sessions in Uvalde. Several art therapists from the Austin and San Antonio area had been going since October and making tiles with students, teachers, survivors and community members all the while planning a mosaic mural in the Jardin del los Heroes park - the first of it’s kind for Uvalde. Wanda spoke with the community and city leaders and designed a napkin sketch for the pavilion that everyone agreed would be a lovely and joy filled space for everyone in the town to enjoy. The main areas of design were around the large oak trees around town, running rivers, flowers, butterflies, a coyote and her baby (the mascot) and of course the lives lost. 

I began going to her south Austin studio in late January along with other volunteers from AMG and Wanda’s team of helpers that have worked with her on other murals around Austin and Texas. We had no idea how many exact tiles were needed to fill the original 7.5’ x 25’ wall but Wanda had faith we would have enough, especially with tiles coming in from other schools, cities and communities around the country. Slowly the 21 handmade glass mosaic butterflies arrived in the studio one by one, and it really started shaping up to be such a beautiful tribute to the souls lost in that tragedy. The one of a kind nature of each butterfly was as unique as each child and teacher. Each clay tile made also had names, personal sentiments, loving phrases and encouraging words to fill the wall. 

Eventually the city decided to move the mural out from under the pavilion to the other side where there will be a splash pad and other areas of the park to enjoy. Wanda chose to increase the size to approximately 9’ x 30’ because there were no physical constraints. So we set to work to make sure we had enough tiles to cover the whole space. The Wedi panels were cut and numbered according to her pencil drawing and the tentative assembly began to take place in mid May. 

The second weekend of June four teachers from Uvalde, a few other teachers from San Angelo and volunteers began covering the Wedi boards with thinset and tiles at Wanda’s Austin studio. The teachers from Uvalde carefully and thoughtfully placed the 21 mosaic butterflies in the sky with clouds putting the two teachers at the far right end together as they were best friends. It was very emotional for them, and we were told not to move them as we tried to place tiles that complemented their colorings and design work. We had to leave space for the screws that would hang the panels on the concrete wall every foot or so. Once in Uvalde we could cover those up and complete each seam with thinset and tiles. 

The panels were hung on the wall June 22nd. The next two (very hot days) Wanda and many volunteers filled in those screw spaces and all the seams to complete the mural. The next weekend was dedicated to grout. We arrived Friday evening and worked in the dark (much cooler) with lights, head lamps and fans. We grouted the mosaic butterflies first which were higher up on the wall with the intention of being more delicate with the glass, mirror, beads and intricate work. We also filled in any extra spaces with nuggets of chopped up tiles. Saturday was grouting the full wall. It was very hot but several volunteers showed up to help, including some of the students and families that had made the tiles. We had an Ardex representative there to assist with the grout and lots and lots of buckets of water, sponges, rags, etc. Honestly, I will never complain about grouting an 8” x 10” mosaic again (especially in my garage)! The team finished up that evening and went home. During the night there was a perfect rain to wash away any extra lingering grout on the tiles. 

I have never worked on a large community project before and was honored to be a part of it, especially benefiting my hometown. Working with Wanda and making new friends was also a highlight for me! Her experience, true dedication to the people she works with and her overall joyful attitude makes for a fun group activity. Thank you to everyone who designed and submitted a mosaic butterfly! I love each and every one, and I know the community of Uvalde will too. I hope I can contribute to many more projects like this. The dedication will be Saturday, August 26th in Uvalde.