Library ramp-wall mural project moves forward; volunteer workdays set through May 7

Library ramp-wall mural project moves forward; volunteer workdays set through May 7

K8e (pronounced KAY-tee) Orr, who has been with Concrete Couch for five years, outlines the day's plans to volunteers during a recent tile-installing day for the ramp-wall mural at the back of the Old Colorado City Library parking lot.

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       During the latter days of April, various types of decorative tiles have begun appearing on the formerly blank concrete walls in back of the Old Colorado City Library parking lot.
       The $13,500 mural endeavor will continue through the next week or so as volunteers coordinate with the Old Colorado City Library and the local nonprofit art organization, Concrete Couch.
       Scheduled days are Tuesday, April 28; Thursday, April 30; Saturday, May 2; Tuesday, May 5; and Thursday, May 7. All times are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., except Thursdays (3 to 6 p.m.)
       After the April 25 install effort, Concrete Couch director Steve Wood estimated that “we are 90 percent complete, by work put in relative to total work, but only 25 percent done with the actual installation.”
       Volunteers are welcome to help mortar the tiles onto the walls - teenagers and older. As for children 12 and under, at this point, as the project nears conclusion, “we just don't have the time” to teach them, Wood explained. “It's just too technical (the little kids who have done the whole project are actually quite good now!)”
       One already-installed row of five tiles identifies the work as the "Magical History Tour, 2015, by Concrete Couch and Community Volunteers." Long-time Westside civic leader and historian Dave Hughes was pleased to see a tile

Recently installed tiles on the upper wall of the Old Colorado City Library ramp (the one nearest the alley) identify the project as the "Magical History Tour."

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fashioned by Wood to commemorate the Unser racing family that lived on the Westside through much of the 20th century. And Wood and Library Manager Jocelyne Sansing joined to place another tile with the single word: "Read."
Based on a beautification concept by Sansing, the project is taking shape on the walls beside the pedestrian ramp that connects from the parking lot to the library entrance and the alley above. As the project contractor, Concrete Couch

Jocelyne Sansing and Steve Wood, heads of the Old Colorado City Library and Concrete Couch, respectively, join to place a "Read" tile for the mural project during a recent project day.

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is taking the lead on the effort. Several dozen volunteers - some on their own, others with groups or schools - have been helping out.
According to Wood, about 300 custom tiles were made in the weeks leading up to the installation, and these are being combined on the walls with about 1,000 commercial tiles.
Co-founded by Wood about 10 years ago, Concrete Couch specializes in putting artistic touches on functional objects and making the community an integral part of it. The nonprofit was hired last fall in response to a library request for quotes (RFQ), which called for a community-inclusive project using “designs that blend both 'old and new' into an overall aesthetically pleasing and complementary property.”

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 4/26/15; Community: Old Colorado City Library)

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