The Marquam Mosaic Project


The Marquam Mosaic was created as a participatory public art project led by renowned Portland artist Lynn Takata that involved children, families and adults in making a 100' long mosaic for the Marquam Nature Park amphitheater. The public was invited to create ceramic and mosaic art and poetry based on the native flora and fauna of Marquam Nature Park, at locations in Southwest Portland. Over 6 months, workshops were held at the Hillsdale Library, Hopewell House, OHSU Farmer's Market, Terwilliger Plaza, Portland State University, Shriners Hospital for Children, Marquam Nature Park, St. Thomas More School and Ainsworth School. In August and September the public was invited to help install it on the wall. The dedication celebration took place September 28. A poem from the workshops was included in the mosaic and a 'chapbook' of poetry has been published and is available for sale (below).

The Marquam Mosaic in the news!:
OregonLive, September 3, 2013 - Marquam Mosaic project brings together hundreds in the service of public art
Oregon Public Broadcasting, October 31, 2013 - Community-Created Marquam Mosaic Showcases Local Flora & Fauna

THE MARQUAM MOSAIC WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNITY SUPPORT FROM THE FOLLOWING VOLUNTEERS FOR WHICH WE EXTEND OUR DEEPEST THANKS:
Erika Acuna, Renate Alexander, Rebecca Allen, Skylar Allen, Gary Aker, Omar Alvarez, Zach Amitty, Alma Annuse, Debbie Asakawa, Betty Ashford, Sherry Atkins, Winnie Bailet, Catherine Barber, Erin Barnard, Laura Barnard, Sarah Bates, Patrick Barton, Michael Barton, Elsa Batten, Sarah Batten, Gaylen Beatty, Deb Bell, Benedicte Bignan, Aiclan Billingsley, Stella Billingsley, Candace Bingham, Katie Boehnlein, Cathy Bracelin, Caroline Brandt, Steve Brandt, John Breil, Austin Briney, Matt Briney, China Brotherson, Ellen Brotherson, Fatima Brotherson-Erriche, Bill Brown, Cameron Brown, Linda Brown, Roger Brown, Molly Burchfield, Marissa Burley-Leece, Nicole Callison, Nathan Capeter, Keri Carkeek, Amalia Carkeek-Hercey, Nathan Carpenter, Faith Cathcart, Denise Carty, Aimee Casper, Kingwood Chen, Bernadette Chien, Jeremiah Collins, Christy Conant, Ozias Conant, Sonja Connor, Gabriel Connor, Jessica Connor, Regina Connor, PJ Connor, Zach Connor, Molly Cooley, Kay Copenhaver, Amanda Coulter, Jessa Forsythe Crane, Jim Crane, Betsy Cruz, Janet Cruz, Melanie Dabareiner, Janelle Dabritz, Jordyn Davies, Paige Davies, Jackie Davis, Cathy DeAlmeida, Barbara Degenhardt, Warren Degenhardt, Keenan Depner, Millie Digger, Connie Dilts, Rebecca Dobert, Mary Douglas, Ani Draper, Elizabeth Draper, Sullivan Draper, Taha Ebeid, Yaseen Ebeid, Kay Ekeya, Sophie Els, Anita Emerson, Alex Emmerich, Fatima Erriche, Zoe Fanning, Noel Felix, Tom Filcich, Chester Filips, Bonnie Finnegan, Juan Fola, Sherry Fola, Beckett Forsythe, Karla Forsythe, Lee Forsythe, Lincoln Forsythe, Jobe Franck, Alexa Fuhrer, Maxine Fuhrer, Shannon Fuhrer, Andrew Galanie, Sydney Galbraith, Jesse Gilles, Irena Goble, Riker Goble, Fritz Gordon, Lehna Gordon, Brittany Green, Heidi Greenwald, Isaac Greenwald, Jo Grossmann, Ron Grossmann, Ken Grossmann, Will Grossman, Sid Grossmann, Mary Grout, Tom Guinan, Andy Gurevich, Moriah Gurevich, Gail Gutzler, Demera Hale, Lisa Hamilton, Tricia Hanson, Ann McLaughlin Harcrow, Nick Hardigg, Ashe Hardigg, Stacie Hardie, Benedicte Hardy, Boaz Hardy, Elinore Hardy, Isao Hardy, Rachel Hardy, Tomo Hardy, Yuko Hardy, Melanie Harriff, Marvin Harrison, Penny Harrison, Josephine Hawthorne, Judy Henderson, Celeste Henry, Jenna Henry, Robyn Hercey, Don Hew, Aidan Hicks, Juliana Hicks, Charlie Howard, Emma Howard, Tiffani Howard, Petya Icheva, Jayne Ichikawa, Valerie Ilsley, Helen Ingram, Averill McIntyre-Ives, D Taylor Ives, Lucia Jac kson, Deepali Jain, Sanjana Jain, Sunil Jain, Alison Jakel, Jenny Jansinski, Bahareh Javadi, Jeff Jensen, Amelia Jensen, Kyle Jensen, Robin Jensen, Alice Johnson, Dorothy Johnson, Karen Johnson, Mattie Johnson, Lynne Johnston, Pearce Jordan, Berdine Jordan, Kylan Jordan, Barb Kaplon, Susan Keller, Inara Ketcham, Kevalin Ketcham, Swapna Ketcham, Catherine Kilburn, Dave Kilburn, Hazel Kilburn, Lucie Kilburn, Michael Kinne, Caitlin Kirsch, Sarah Neal Kittleson, Diane Koopman, Maria Lanaras, Amy Larson, Rhonda Leo, Donna Lieberman, Paula Linte, Litza Lovell, Linda Lovett, Erik Luvaas, Ibrahim Mahmond, Hanna Mahmond, Lynn Malzahn, Mimi Margolis, Eric Marley, Sharon Marshall, Lisa Martin, Maria Michas, John McAteer, Moira McAuliffe, Dorothy McKnight, Catherine McMullen, Ruby McShane, Isa Menesez, Curtis Milander, Daniel Milander, Leigh Milander, Alanna Mock, Joey Mock, Mandy Mock, Nora Mohmoud, Lyn Morris, Vic Morris, Edison Munroe, Maya Munroe, Dee Murphy, Madison Nelson, Janet Nemadic, Veronica Nguyen, Olivia Nieto, Lisa Nouirgat, Nick Nouirgat, Rose O'Neal, Andrea Odegaard, Kim Osgood, Susan Palmiter, Samuel Parsons, Isabella Pearl, Ailee Pederson, Dashiel Pederson, Randie Peterson, Lou Phemister, Leslie Pohl-Kosban, Angelique Points, Renate Powell, Linda Press, Sidra Quinn, Joan Rague, Heather Rau, Mark Reed, Julia Reodica, Jaime Repasky, Ronan Repasky, Torin Repasky, Starr Rios, Beth Rizer, Kathi Roberts, Robin Roberts, Blair Robertson, Abbie Robinson, Heather Roggendorf, Heidi Roggendorf, Stefan Roggendorf, Eleanor Romanazzi, Marian Romanazzi, Devdra Ross, Mailon Ross, Morrgan Ross, Remda Ross, Jim Ruyle, JoAnne Ruyle, Karen Salzber, Sue Sandford, Juan Saucedo, Leslie Schockner, Christina Schwamb, Miles Schwartz, Sophia Schwartz, Nancy Seton, Heather Shaw, Campbell Shaw, Laura Shepherd, McKenzie Shirk, Heather Show, Aidanbilling Sley, Shelley Sobel, Tamara Sobel, Sherry Sola, Alana Heiser Spellman, Beckett Spellman, Lincoln Spellman, Paul Spellman, Tamsin Spellman, Calissa Spooner, Sue Spooner Caldwell, Marcella Stenard, Sharon Stern, Ann Stout, Erin Stout, Emul Stout, Jessica Stroia, Brieanna Stubbs, Joseph Stubbs, Stephanie Taimi-Mandel, Don Tarbutton, Betsy Tighe, Mary Tinsman, Kerry Tomlinson, Manny Tomlinson, Scott Tomlinson, Teddy Tomlinson, Jean Trygstad, Kristin Tufo, John Turney, Laurie Turney, Gretchen Vanlente, Joseph Vazquez, Mary Verrilli, Dalton Vodden, Sandip Vyas, Ben Watzig, Betsie Weil, Ada Welch, Denise Welch, Lorien Welchoff, Zhanna Welchoff, Rosemary Werring, Deb White, Grace White, Mark White, Nathan Williams, Jean Wilson, Kathy Wolford, Jasper Womack, Julia Yeager, Audrey Zanfinan, Griffin Zanfinan, Haley Zanze, Jasper Zanze, Sadie Zanze, Sarah Zanze, Lenore Zenger

Please accept our apologies if we misspelled, or omitted, your name. Feel free to email us with the correct information, and we will revise the final list: FMNP@comcast.net.

In addition to a 2013 Project Grant from Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), the mosaic is funded in part by the Bill Connor Memorial Fund of Friends of Marquam Nature Park but we still need to raise $400 to set up a maintenance fund for the mosaic. We welcome contributions of any size. If you would like to donate click here.

The Artist: Lynn Takata is an award-winning artist who is nationally known for creating participatory mosaics, sculpture and murals. She involves families and neighborhoods to build tangible symbols of community pride in parks, community centers, zoos and schools. She works with glass, concrete, ceramic and stone and teaches art at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. (www.lynntakata.com)

The Poet: Edna Kovacs holds a Masters in Education with specific endorsement in Learning Disabilities and a Ph.D. in Expressive Arts with a specialization in Multicultural Education. Edna is the author of five books on writing and poetry including her haiku chapbook, Mandalas, which won the Cicada Chapbook Award. (www.poetineden.com)

Connect with us on Facebook:

Before - The Marquam Nature Park Shelter Amphitheater

To purchase copies of the poetry chapbook, Silence is a Gift the Forest Shares, call 503-799-8435 or go to donation page. Cost of the chapbook is $5 and shipping is $1, totalling $6 per book. Include your mailing address in "special instructions to the seller" so book can be shipped to you.