Community comes together to add to mosaic art at School Park Preserve

The mosaic art pieces in School Park Preserve have been taking shape this past month. Earlier this month, the three artists behind the mosaic pieces - Katy Fries, Brian Fries and Ryan Goodpastor - installed and debuted the smaller mosaic sign on the corner of High Street and College Way. The smaller sign mosaic is just the precursor toward a much larger masterpiece planned to be installed right beneath the city's future pickleball courts near the parking lot of School Park Preserve. The larger mural will eventually take up a 900-square-foot space and was designed in an "arts and crafts" influence. The mosaic will feature natural oak woodlands setting native to the Auburn region with large lettering identifying the School Park Preserve. The mosaic will be constructed with hand-built ceramic tiles, which will be fired and glazed for beauty and durability. The artful additions to School Park Preserve have been three years in the making and the community recently had its chance to add its artwork to the piece. At the Auburn Symphony in the Park event Sept. 16, members of the community helped add texture to tile pieces which will eventually be broken, fired and glazed to become part of the golden hills in the larger mosaic. "We are trying to incorporate community-based art," Katy Fries said. "This gives them the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than they normally can in their busy lives." Fries said she hoped the community element to the mosaic would introduce families to the School Park Preserve and keep them engaged with the space. "Hopefully, it will bring them back to the wall in a year," she said. "They know they were a part of it. This will build up the value of that park and make people more aware of the natural wonder that is there." Fries said she hopes to begin to install the larger mosaic in April with the help of her husband and Goodpastor. "I feel like it communicates from afar," Fries said. "But also stays interesting as you get close to it. Whereever you stand, it is interesting."