Entangled Bank

Piece by Piece participant artists, instructors and volunteers recently completed a five-foot by fifteen foot, five panel mural for Irvine Valley College’s new Life Sciences Building. The given theme was “chaos to order.”

Throughout the process, we had guest artists share their talents. Visiting Artist Matt Doolin, who works with handmade tile and mosaic, worked with our artists to create sculpted shapes and creatures for the “primordial soup”.

We received some excellent donations of recycled materials for this project, including rejected pieces from Xiem Clay Center and a local ceramic artist, as well as broken stained glass from various sources.

 Throughout the fabrication of this project, our artists worked together to refine the original design conceived by Dawn Mendelson. Each participating artist contributed his or her individual vision and talent. We used all types of materials, requiring us to learn new skills to shape them. In addition to the good old-fashioned hammer and standard nippers, we made use of the excellent new Revolution XT saw received as a very kind donation from Gemini Saw.

In March, Piece by Piece was invited to attend the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting of the new building. Our artists received Certificates of Completion and enjoyed the moment.

Thank you to the office of the President at Irvine Valley College and the School of Life Sciences and Technology faculty for their kind support!

Year Installed: 2014

Comissioned by: Irvine Valley College

Size: 5 ft x 15 ft (5 panels of 3 ft x 5 ft ea)

Materials: Recycled ceramic and glass; metal

Viewing: On campus of IVC, Life Sciences Building

Address: Life Sciences Building, 5500 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92618

Piece by Piece Artists: Dawn Mendelson, Luz Mack-Durini, Julie Williams, Bea Jones, Leigh Adams, Hilda M., Jose M., Carole B., Victor J., Hugo S., Terry, Guadalupe G., Juan N.