Client: City of Austin

Overview

“We All Ride” was collaboratively created by myself and Austin’s cycling communities. It depicts the strength in solidarity found in riding your bicycle alongside others, exemplified when cyclists of all ages, shapes, and sizes rode to our studio to help place tens of thousands of tiles during a series of community workdays hosted by myself and The Mosaic Workshop collaborators.
Encapsulated in the ethos and process of this public art piece are the shared memories of Austin residents of all ages and abilities, sitting side-by-side and placing colorful glass tiles. The design is pre-planned to the location’s exact specifications and separated into sections roughly one square foot in size, allowing anyone to enjoy an afternoon of meditative creativity and contribute to permanent public artwork.
From concept to creation, I wanted to imbue in the mosaic that unmatched feeling of joyful freedom from being self-propelled on two wheels with the wind in your face and fellow cyclists at your side. A digital photographic collage inspires the design, but each participant interprets their guide differently. When the sections are later brought together for installation, the many unique perspectives shine through in the collective image, creating a glitchy quilt of mosaic glass tile.

Goals

Working with the City of Austin, we knew this mosaic needed to be a representation of community while highlighting themes of calm, togetherness, and overcoming adversity.

Hearing this, I was immediately reminded of my experiences as a long-time bicyclist and member of many bike groups. The times riding my bike with other community members have been some of the most calm and free I've ever felt.

Additionally, depicting a group of people bicycling would draw on complimentary themes of sustainability and diversity.

Process

Over the span of about 3 months, I invited bike groups and community members to workdays at my studio, where they were given a plastic grid, full access to my collection of tiles, and a color reference sheet similar to a color-by-numbers. Each section — a little over a square foot each — could take someone anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.

Thankfully, the community turned out for it! We had hundreds of people volunteer their time to help place tiles, each making contributions to the mural you can see today.

My favorite part of this process has been seeing the pride my fellow community members take in this mural. There were people who took photos with the tiles they laid down, and then once we installed the final mural, they found their section at the mural! It was so rewarding giving people the opportunity to learn a new skill and play a part in this monumental public artwork.