Client: City of Los Angeles

Overview

“Wilmington Ebb and Flow” is a ceramic tile mosaic installation located on arches in the Wilmington Town Square. The project is comprised of a combination of handmade and commercial tiles. Local youth were engaged in the making of the tiles via weekly art classes at the Wilmington Recreation Center. While some of the tiles feature unique patterns created by stamps made by the youth, others showcase drawings and poems. QR codes printed on tiles link to videos of the youth who worked on the project. “Wilmington Ebb and Flow” was completed with studio assistance from Kory Salajka and Keila Medina Villanueva. Lead Mason was Andy Jimenez.

Goals

"Wilmington Ebb and Flow" was part of a larger effort to renovate and revitalize the Wilmington Town Square, a small park on the main commercial drag of Wilmington, a port community in southwest Los Angeles. In addition to the ceramic mosaic, the park also includes painted murals by Gelson Lemus, Breanna Quintero and Benjamin Avila. Krantz, Lemus, Quintero and Avila worked with a color palette voted on my residents and community members. All of the artists were tasked with showcasing the unique history and culture of Wilmington.

Process

"Wilmington Ebb and Flow" was commissioned by Los Angeles City Council District 15, with additional support from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative and Green Communications Initiative. Krantz began the project in the spring of 2022, with weekly art classes offered at the Wilmington Recreation Center. During the classes, youth learned art fundamentals with a focus on ceramic hand building and tile making techniques. The seventeen week class culminated in the public art installation of the mosaic, which the youth, led by Krantz, helped install and grout. Embedded in the mosaic are tiles printed with QR codes that link to videos of the students who participated in the project.