ST. PETERSBURG, FL \u2014 The Sunshine City Mosaic at Sunset Park formally opened to the public Wednesday after two-and-a-half years in the making. <\/p>\n
The 175-foot-long and 700-square-foot mosaic sidewalk that cuts through the park, a small but lush, green space at Park Street and Central Avenue, depicts nine vignettes of St. Petersburg\u2019s diverse wildlife. <\/p>\n
The artwork was painstakingly designed and created by Laura Spencer<\/a> \u2014 who creates under the name Miss Crit \u2014 and Alex Kaufman<\/a> and George Retkes<\/a>, who both work at MGA Sculpture Studio. Kaufman hopes the work will breathe new life into the park, which is on the west side of Central Avenue, just before the bridge that leads to Treasure Island. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re on it, you have to walk it to really experience the whole piece of art and you have to walk it several times, which boils back down to experiencing the park,\u201d he told Patch. \u201cI would love if this brought more energy to the park and this was the catalyst for it.\u201d <\/p>\n During the process of creating and installing the mosaic, Kaufman realized \u201chow gorgeous the park is,\u201d he added. \u201cThere were flocks of birds flying by, dolphins jumping in the background, amazing sunsets \u2014 and right here on Central Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n For Spencer, born and raised in St. Petersburg, it was important to get every detail of the local flora and fauna included in the piece right. <\/p>\n \u201cWe spent a lot of time researching what native animals you find in Pinellas County, and we really wanted to celebrate and advocate for them,\u201d she told Patch, adding, \u201cOne of my favorite things to celebrate is the Florida Ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n The nine vignettes share a narrative, Spencer said. \u201cThe entire piece tells the story of the sunrise on Tampa Bay to the sunset on St. Pete Beach through ecological vignettes.\u201d <\/p>\n The series starts on the east side of the park, the Tampa Bay side, with mosaic images of manatees, sea horses, mullets, osprey, Southern magnolias and green anoles. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the true, native lizards to the city of St. Pete, Pinellas County. A lot of people don\u2019t realize that. They\u2019ve been pushed out by the brown Cuban anoles,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n The central medallion scene was Spencer\u2019s favorite to design.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really kind of a special idea I had to mimic the sun but doing it through oranges and palmetto fronds with the fronds as the sun\u2019s rays,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an interpretation of the sun without being so on the nose.\u201d<\/p>\n From there, the narrative moves west to \u201cthe beach side,\u201d with mosaic scenes featuring pelicans, fiddler crabs, turtles, jellyfish, sharks in a coral reef, native flowers like seaside goldenrod and railroad vines, and \u201cdolphins of course,\u201d Spencer said. The final vignette to the west depicts two large stingrays. <\/p>\n It was a long process to create the massive public art piece – from research to design to finding the right materials for it to installation, Kaufman said. <\/p>\n Then, there were the delays along the way, including issues with the water jet machine and back-to-back hurricanes last fall. <\/p>\n \u201cThese things can put a wrench in the process and get in the way of the quality, but when you saw how good [the piece] could be and the quality needed, you know you couldn\u2019t skimp on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single piece, every puzzle piece is important to making a bigger picture. To have a project take this long, there are lots of little details. It was almost like doing 10 projects in one more so than just one project. Each scene was like its own project.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bittersweet moment seeing it open to the public, Kaufman said, likening the project to having a child. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of raised it. We\u2019ve done the best we could and now it will have a life of its own,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve put in as much energy as we could and now it starts to go in its own direction. We have made this piece, but after [Wednesday] it is no longer ours. We are the artists who made it, but it is the community\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family-friendly event will include mosaic-themed arts and crafts, lawn games, and food and refreshments. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and picnic blankets.<\/p>\n