Artist Guidelines

The initial installation of the Community Mosaic Project theme will be Variations on the Color Wheel, highlighting Art in the Everyday. The theme is intended to allow each artist to express his or her own vision of a generic, everyday object or living thing using bright primary and secondary colors. Designs including political, religious, or sexual messages cannot be included.
The mosaic will cover approximately 300 square feet. Larger portions will be completed by approved contributing artists. Smaller portions will be completed during outreach sessions with the community at large. The parts will be pieced together into a frieze and mounted on the exterior of the building at 1517 Camden Road, on the light rail line.
Artists must submit a reasonably detailed color sketch of their design for approval as a Contributing Artist. Submissions should be mailed or delivered to Joan Vitale, Charlotte Art League, 1517 Camden Road, Charlotte, NC 28203, or emailed to info@communitymosaicproject.com.
Artist sections will measure approximately 3' x 3', to be determined by exact building measurements.
Artists must attend two instructional workshops as decided and scheduled by the Community Mosaic Project team to learn the process for this particular mosaic. Work may then be completed in your studio or in community sessions.
Artist workshops will begin in August. Mosaic sections should be completed by mid-November. Installation will begin in Winter 2008.
Artists must agree to donate a minimum of six hours for community outreach sessions in order to be considered for the project. Outreach is a vital portion of our effort, and can be successful only with the involvement of all artists. Training will be given, and a variety of outreach session times, locations, and projects will be offered.
Appropriate tile will be supplied to artists at no charge. Tile should be broken or cut into tesserae.
Artists must specify colors from the attached color sheet if using our supplied tile, which is a high-fired exterior freeze/thaw resistant 4x4 tile available in bright colors.
If using your own fired tile or found objects, these must be stated in the original submission and detailed. Most tile is not suitable for this type of application; guidelines must be stringently adhered to. Materials other than McIntyre Tile or Dal-Tile Natural Hues will not be supplied or paid for by the project.
Other acceptable tesserae for the mosaic include glass, metal, hard and durable plastic, or stone. Painted materials must be carefully treated to be durable, and are not encouraged. Alternate materials are desirable for creativity and interest; however, please check with us for suitability.
Artist color selections should blend with the colors for the mural overall. In order to be readable from a distance, colors should be vibrant primary or secondary colors, with some tertiary colors available. No pinks, browns or grays will be supplied.
The mosaic will be "read" at a distance. Designs must be simple enough to be readable from a distance, i.e. a bumblebee. This will necessitate large blocks of a single color or color family. Tesserae within the color block can be as large or as small as desired. Variety within the color block is encouraged, such as a broad yellow stripe composed of yellow tile, yellow Bic lighter covers, yellow bottle caps, or well preserved yellow leaves sealed under glass. This will invite close examination of the mosaic, and more attention to your art.
All mosaic work will be completed on fiberglass mesh, to be provided, or direct on the substrate, to be provided. Adhesive will be specified by the committee and must be properly stored, mixed, and applied to insure that the mosaic installation doesn't fail.
Artists may use the mosaic on their resumes, but must state that their contribution is a part of the whole. Artists may never imply that the entire mosaic design or fabrication is their work.
Designs remain the property of individual artists, but mosaic sections remain the property of Charlotte Art League. Artists will be noted as contributors.
The mosaic will be removable at the discretion of The Community Mosaic Project, Charlotte Art League, and the building owner, at such time as Charlotte Art League may leave the premises, and will be moved to a new location or returned to the artist.