Here Be Dragons – Island Art Association

Submitted by Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter

July 1, 2015 1:00 p.m.

the Island Art Association
“The designs are fanciful rather than representational. You can look at the design and see whatever you want. To me, they are dragons.”

There they are, in our midst, curling around the courtyard and guarding the gates. These dragons are the work of a talented team of artists who decided to add architectural embellishments to the plain walls of their building and courtyard. You can find the dragons at the Island Art Association (IAA) where two buildings in an L-shaped flank a courtyard. Moving along the stucco walls are designs made of bits of pottery and glass. The designs are fanciful rather than representational. You can look at the design and see whatever you want. To me, they are dragons.

The project inspiration came from Denise Murphy, a fused-glass artist, who had seen a similar project in Vienna. She was joined by several other IAA members in putting the design together then putting out a call for members to contribute broken pieces of crockery, china, glass and the like to the project. The pieces were first laid out into the design, applied to a backing, grouted and then applied to the walls inside the courtyard and wrapping around the outer walls. There they undulate over the wall surface in a riot of colors and shapes.

I know from personal experience that this was not an easy project. At various points, IAA members were invited to a do-it-yourself evenings to build parts of the design. I went to one where we selected pieces of glass and crockery and laid out designs on boards. Not a task for the faint of heart. Or, I might add, for those who like clean hands.

One thing the project leaders never anticipated when developing this project was the outpouring of people bringing pieces that they wanted to include in the mosaic. In this way the walls began to take on a living memorial with special meaning for those contributors. One group of women brought their mothers’ china and created a “Mother board.” Another brought a broken vase from her favorite aunt.

Dragons 2If you inspect the designs up close, you will recognize bits of china, a handle of a cup and all manner of crockery and glass that have been integrated into the overall design. The shape of the pieces creates a 3-D effect. Stand back a bit and these individual pieces blend into a complete design. I have taken visitors to see the designs and they are amazed at the results. One friend said what a great thing it was to have such a design in town where all could enjoy it.

If you haven’t seen the IAA courtyard, go down to 2nd Street and walk around the courtyard to marvel at the designs. I prefer to think of them as dragons but you may see alligators, birds or just beautiful colors and shapes. While you’re there, take a look at the gallery where the artists who put the dragons together also hang their works. We are indeed a fortunate community as my dragons remind me.

Evelyn McDonaldEvelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.