READ MORE: Artists create mosaic \u2018love letter\u2019 to natural St. Pete<\/a><\/p>\nEvery tile was hand-cut, using a sophisticated waterjet machine, and hand-placed into the artwork, usually in blazing afternoon sunlight.<\/p>\n
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In a way, said Kaufman, the trio is already suffering from \u201cempty nest syndrome.\u201d It will be hard to break their months-long, hands-and-knees routine at the park. To let their baby go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still feel like I\u2019m going to be coming out here once a week to sweep it and make sure it\u2019s OK,\u201d joked Spencer.<\/p>\n
The artists applaud the City for the bold westward expansion of public art, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had so many people in the neighborhood, even the local businesses, going \u2018Can you guys get a playground put in there?!\u2019 And we\u2019re \u2018Well, we don\u2019t design playgrounds, we design art,\u2019 but we love the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that this project is the catalyst for more usage of the park. And maybe if more people show up because of this mosaic, that will warrant the installation or a playground, or adult exercise equipment. Certainly more events, getting the food trucks back out \u2026 it\u2019s a really beautiful piece of land.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the sky is outrageous at sunset. We got to see the sunset every single day. I think I\u2019m going to miss that the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The artists were paid $50,000 for their efforts, which they say barely covered their costs. The City poured concrete curbing on each side of the sidewalk \u2013 the width is ADA compliant, and wheelchairs are welcome, as well as baby and pet strollers. The mosaic surface is tough.<\/p>\n
Skaters and skateboarders, on the other hand, are discouraged. The artists hope a sign will be installed: \u201cRespect the art \u2013 please walk your wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re also hopeful that \u201cThe Sunshine City Mosaic at Sunset Park\u201d will become a \u201cdestination\u201d on Google Maps (it\u2019s under consideration).<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there\u2019s quite a few people that come to this park from the neighborhoods,\u201d observed Kaufman. \u201cReally great art, you just discover. You just happen to see it. So people who walk past just stop and stare at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s dedication event begins at 5 p.m. Speakers included Mayor Ken Welch, Council Chair Copley Gerdes, nd Celeste Davis, the City\u2019s Director of Arts, Culture, and Tourism.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The family-friendly event will include mosaic-themed arts and crafts, lawn games, and food and refreshments while supplies last. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and picnic blankets.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Parking is available at the former Pasadena Card Club, at 10 Park St. N. There is also limited street parking on the south side of the park.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here comes the sun. And it\u2019s more than just all right. After months of design, creation and installation,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-23729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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The mosaic sidewalk \u2013 built from 15,000 carefully-cut pieces of porcelain tile and glass \u2013 is 175 feet long and five feet wide. Depicted are various animals, birds, fish and more, indigenous to this part of Florida. With a glowing, orange sun (made of Florida oranges) at dead center.<\/p>\n