BARBARA WALKIN

FN Night Editor

barbara@nasguard.com

A small group of local artists are currently working on a project that will not only be a part of an upcoming exhibition, hosted by The Arts Zone, but one that the artists hope will find a home in the community for residents and visitors to enjoy.

Artist Jackie Boss explained that the project, a Mosaic Floor, is currently being created at the home of The Arts Zone located in the L'Utopia Building on East Sunrise Highway.

"We are doing a community project here and the idea is to create a Mosaic Floor for an exhibition and then to find a home for it," Boss confirmed, revealing that the project originated from the fact that there was a lot of scrap material in the form of tiles around the island that could be recycled into a work of art.

"And it just seemed to me – I been living on the island for five years and I haven't seen a lot of public art which surprised and confused me – that it just didn't seem right.

"So when we got this art group started, where we have an art studio and artists come on a regular basis, we wanted to start doing community projects; therefore we are starting with this, which is going to be a Mosaic Floor."

Boss explained that the floor will be constructed from 14 x 14 inch concrete slabs "... and if all goes well and we can have good participation, the idea is to make it, roughly, 11 feet wide by 17 feet long."

It is going to be big, she said.

"It will be the focal point of an exhibition that the art group has and after the exhibition it will need a home. What do we do with this big beautiful piece and all the work that was put into it?

"So we are looking for a sponsor to assist with buying the additional materials, but then we want the floor to go somewhere in a public space."

Boss said that she is aware that the group will have to contact the Grand Bahama Port Authority to find a home for the piece; however, she has an area in mind.

"One of the areas that I have in mind is outside of the Rand Memorial Hospital ... there is a big grassy area and what better place for a piece of public art that people can enjoy. All we need to do is add a couple of benches, trees and then you have an urban park for the community," Boss noted.

Essentially, she added, the artists want to do something for the community, involve the community and then it will be a reciprocation of the community appreciating that they have talented artists in their community.

She explained that work on the project actually started some three weeks ago, but the collection and breaking down of the tiles for the project began back in August of this year.

"We went around found some tiles, we went to couple of the tile places in town and grabded some scraps and then we actually had to purchase some tiles, because we wanted some specific colors.

"Our purpose for collecting the tiles was just to see what we would get, then design around what was available to compliment each other."

She added that there was no point in creating something that needed a lot of red, orange and yellow, and those colors can't be found.

"So we just started at the border with the blues and whites ... the central part will be neurtral colors, because they are so easy to come by. We are also incorporating some shadowed glass, from a previous art project (we are recycling it) for the floor."

Boss noted that other materials used for the project include – concrete, mortar and grout.

"The art group itself managed to put together some funds to purchase hand tools that they needed, so right now we are working with what they have."

Currently five artists consistently work on the project, Boss said, but there are other artists that "sort of" participate casually.

The exciting aspect of this project is that there will be a single image inside the border and Boss is the only one who knows what that image is.

"It's a secret even from those working on it," she added.

The only clue that The Freeport News got from Boss was that the image will be of a Caribbean flavor.

Peter Adderley of Creative Works said that this is a wonderful art project, "and we want to encourage art teachers, art students, lovers of the arts and people who genuinely love Grand Bahama to come and assist with this project.

"The end product is going to be something wonderful for a green space, people could come and enjoy the beauty of Grand Bahama."

Addreley added that the volunteers working on the project are dedicated and committed to the cause, "but we want more people to come in ... half-an-hour, one hour, five minutes or a full day. It is something that is productive and something wonderful for the island."

Art enthusiast, Elena Bargo said, "I am an art supporter in the community and I think this is really great for the younger generation to have something artistic to do and even people who haven't explored the artistry to join. It will give them some experience in the arts and the satisfaction of knowing they contributed to something that the community will enjoy."

Artists and sponsors wanting to assist with this project may contact artists at: theartszone.gbi@gmail.com