Express News article / Documentary / Kickstarter

A SWEET article about the Mulberry bridge was published in the San Antonio Express News yesterday! A lot of pictures and most of them "above the fold" (wink). My appreciation to Steve Bennett for writing such a thorough article and for making a good case for public art to be included in our city's infrastructure. San Antonio's city council will be voting on a "percent for art" proposal in the coming months. If you live in San Antonio, I encourage you to contact your council person and let them know that our city deserves more art in public places!

One amazing thing that has been/still is happening during this entire public art making process is that my friend James Sanders, of Standard Definition  has been filming just about the entire process start to finish with plans of creating a full length documentary about the process.

James is a very experienced filmmaker and has the heart of an artist. Sara and I have enjoyed working with him, his work ethic and dedication to this project have been truly inspiring. James has formed a wonderful team of people to help make this film happen. Catherine Lee is serving as the producer. Her writing and grant writing abilities leave me awestruck and envious! She is maintaining our recently launched Kickstarter campaign, writing grants to help fund the project, and maintaining the project's tumbler blog.

Finally, I want to tell you about Kickstarter. We need your help! We chose to use Kickstarter as a funding platform for a number of reasons. The following is from their FAQ's:

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.

A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.

All or nothing funding. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.

Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. We hope you agree... Welcome to Kickstarter!

 I really love this concept, and I particularly like that a pledge not only gets you a warm and fuzzy feeling for helping to fund an art project you believe in, you also get some really great promotional items like postcards, posters, DVD of the film, Art Tiles (made by yours truly), or handcrafted mugs. Besides funding for the film, Kickstarter provides us a platform to build partnerships with other enthusiastic folks. So when you have a moment, please check out our links, make a pledge, or just pass on the word! Facebook "likes", forwarded emails, etc will exponentially help us reach the goal of getting this film produced.

Keep that wheel a turning!
Diana

Progress on the Millrace Bridge

Sara and I have been hard at work making the outside panels of the Millrace Bridge. The bridge is the gateway to Historic Brackenridge Golf Course. This time I am going with a warm color palette, and art deco inspired designs (the course was built in the 1920's). The theme of this artwork is "The History of Brackenridge Golf Course." And actually, it is quite interesting! Did you know that the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who created Mount Rushmore, had his studio on the grounds of the golf course for 12 years? Another interesting fact is that the course was designed by one of the first golf architects in the United States, A.W. Tillinghast. People come from all over just to play on a Tillinghast course. Last fact, before I start sounding like Cliff Clavin: Brackenridge was the first public course in Texas, all the rest were private. OK, OK, I'll stop for now, you will just have to go see the bridge when it is finished! Pics of the process below, click to enlarge.


"Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up." --Chuck Close

Images of Completed Mulberry Bridge

Hi Folks, I wanted to post some good images of the Mulberry Bridge (The Life Cycle of the Gulf Coast Toad), in case you have not yet seen it in person! Sara and I have begun working on the next bridge, this one is about a mile south on Mill Race and is the gateway to the historic Brackenridge Golf Course. So, no more talk of toads from me for a while, on to golfers!


Will post again soon with images of our progress. Thanks again for everyone's support and kind words about Mulberry, I am so happy about the end results!

Sincerely,
Diana

The Life Cycle of the Golf Coast Toad Bridge

It's finally done!!! We have been working hard to finish the installation of all the tile panels at the Mulberry Bridge.  Everyone we have worked with has been amazing.  We like to thank Public Art San Antonio, and especially Tommy Gregory and Claudia Zarazua for keeping everyone on track and in communication with each other.  We'd like to thank Hill Country Bridge,  EZ-Bell Construction  for their hard work and incredible craftsmanship.  But most of all thank you to all of the people who have stopped to talk to us and brought us water while we have been installing, emailing kind words, and chatting with us on Facebook during this process.  Knowing that it will be appreciated by the people who live and work in the area is the most rewarding thing in the world. Most of all we'd like to thank the people of San Antonio, we cannot think of a better place to live and work...now if it would just rain a little, all would be perfect!

Diana and Sara

Mulberry Bridge

So much has happened since our last post. We finished making and installing the exterior panels on the Mulberry Bridge. The bridge is now open to traffic!

Christina Palafox helping with installation

We'd like to thank the nice weather and the amazing help of friends and family.  Couldn't have done it without you all.  

Margaret Palafox construction site supervisor for  Diana Kersey Ceramics

We have finished building all of the interior panels as well.  So Diana and I are back in the studio glaze firing this week. We will be back on the bridge in hardhats installing the interior panels by the end of the month.   I can hardly wait for pedestrians and drivers to be able be able to experience the magic up close.

Interior panels for the Catalpa-Pershing Bridge

We are getting close to finishing the building of the Bridge! All eight of the vertical panels that have the large bas-reliefs of the Gulf Coast Toad are either glaze fired or bisqued and ready for the final firing. Twelve of the sixteen horizontal panels have been made and bisque fired. And today, I finished the last touches on four of the eight interior panels, now all we have left next week is to make the final four, which will look very similar to the images posted below.

The project is looking great, and we hope to begin installation mid-week. The guys at Hill Country Bridge and EZ-bel Construction, in addition the city staff, have all been outstanding and willing to accommodate my concerns and scheduling needs. What a great group of professionals! I am so proud to be a part of this project!

Male toad singing/courting the female

Toad eggs that have been fertilized

Tadpoles maturing into froglet

Mature gulf coast toad

I must admit, I am getting a wee bit tired of thinking about toads! It is good to start seeing signs of completion for this project. I am very pleased with the results from the firings so far, the kiln gods everyone made for the studio opening have been doing their job! Next post should contain some finished and installed work. Yippiee!

Diana

Catalpa-Pershing Bridge Progress

First piece out of the glaze kiln!!

I bet you are wondering how the tile panels for the bridge are coming along.  The answer is: GREAT! We have finished building the eight vertical panels and the first ones are out of the glaze firing.  The colors are more rich and vibrant than we could have hoped for, and boy do they sparkle in the sun!

Forms with foam inserts for tile panels

Meanwhile, the constructions of the bridge itself is coming right along. San Antonians will be happy to know that the Mulberry is scheduled to be open to traffic,  with bridge construction finished by first week in April. (disclaimer: neither Diana Kersey  nor her assistant are responsible for any of the current or future traffic situations in San Antonio)

Exterior of bridge with scaffolding! 

We have built twelve out of sixteen of the horizontal panels.  Only four more to go.  We are now focusing on processing all of the exterior panels though the glazing and firing process.  The artisan construction workers at Hill Country Bridge, Inc.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hill-Country-Bridge-Inc are leaving the exterior scaffolding up for us.  We don't have to install hanging off the side of the bridge with rock climbing harnesses!!!!