The Ortega Park Murals would be quite wonderful as mosaics. Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican painter and muralist, had a number of his paintings turned into iconic mosaics at the Perdomo mosaic workshop in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The Ortega Park murals can be photographed and made into mosaic templates. The mosaics can be fabricated on Wedi board and bolted to new walls, and thus could also be moved in the future, if necessary.

I studied mosaic making at the Perdomo workshop, as well as in Italy. I have created many public mosaics in Santa Barbara, some with public participation. The original artists and local citizens of all ages and abilities can be trained to produce professional mosaics. For example, I led the 5th and 6th graders at the McKinley Elementary School in creating a 6×19 foot mosaic mural for their cafeteria a number of years ago.

This is a process that I recommend for conserving these historic murals, whether or not I am the mosaic artist to make it happen. Mosaic tiles need little if any maintenance and are easily cleaned, if tagged.

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