On July 17 we finished the installation of the mosaic at the Community of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Colleyville Texas. We contracted with Rugo Stone LLC. to complete this last step of the process. We were happy to collaborate with them and work side by side with Matteo Randi, a master mosaicist and impeccable installer, and his apprentice Grace McCrery. Here are some pictures we took during that amazing week.
But first, kudos to Monica in Italy and Samantha in the Bronx for an excellent job of crating the pieces for shipping. They arrived in perfect shape! And many thanks to Russ Overby, facilities manager, for all the help he gave our team at the church.
The crate being filled at the Motivo Mosaic studio in the Bronx.
The crate at the loading dock in the Bronx.
Russ receiving the crate in Texas.
Excitement is high as Matteo and Grace unpack the crate...
...and assemble the puzzle in a dry run on the floor.
One by one the pieces are placed on a bed of cement on the wall, face down with the paper now facing the viewer.
After the paper is soaked and while the cement is still wet, we carefully remove the paper to reveal the sparkling face of the mosaic underneath.
The mosaic is washed and missing tesserae are filled in.
Ta-da!
And so, this journey comes to an end. I want to thank Father Higgins for his support and encouragement and all the wonderful parishioners at the Community of the Good Shepherd whom I have had the privilege and great pleasure to meet. Special thanks to the Fernando family for opening their home to me and making me feel so welcome!
And last but not least, a cheer to the ladies' parish group with whom I spent an eye-opening afternoon at the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, a ministry "dedicated to providing love, hope, respect and a new beginning for the homeless of Tarrant County."
