Peck Park Mosaic Dedication

Last week, the Sea Creatures Mosaic at Peck Park in San Pedro was dedicated. I took this picture from across the pool before the rain really started to come down in earnest and we all got drenched.

If you remember last week Thursday, getting drenched with rain was a lot better than being sweaty and clammy with humidity all day.

Not that the lovely mermaid at right has any problems with being drenched. That blank space near her hip is where the dedication plaque will go.

With the exception of the mermaid--all of the creatures in the mosaic are native to the area.

And...to whom is this mosaic dedicated? Well, since the Girl Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and since several Girl Scout troops helped make tiles for the mosaic (some of them even look like cookies--see this previous post and look at the yellow background), and since artist Julie Bender is a leader in Girl Scouts: the mosaic is dedicated to the Girl Scouts of America.

To the left is artist Julie Bender with Girl Scouts Los Angeles' CEO, Lise L Luttgens. From their smiles you would never know they were getting soaked, would you?

Many local Girl Scout groups, as well as students from Mary Star of the Sea and  other local schools, the Moms from Art to Grow On, as well as a few families, contributed to the mosaic by taking clay from Julie and making the tiles themselves, and coming by on weekends to help with the assembly.

A member of Councilman Buscaino's staff announced that the pool--which was scheduled to close this summer due to budget cuts--will stay open at least through Labor Day.

As I understand it, practically no city money was used for the mosaic. Sadly, Los Angeles--and all California cities--have cut way back on budgeting, even for necessities. Julie said that, with some supplies being donated, the mosaic cost no more than $2500 to install. Her time was  volunteered, not that you could put a price tag on it.

One of the reasons for the dedication ceremony, in fact, was to raise money to pay off that $2500. There was a Silent Auction (unfortunately, all the goods had to go under the table when the rain started), and games, patches, and even several water ballet performances by the Peck Park Pool Synchronized Swim Team.

Tee shirts were for sale too. All in all, a lovely wet evening. And I won't even mention the food...which was kept dry under tents and was delicious.

If you'd like to contribute, I suggest contacting Julie Bender through her website.

Here's one last picture, taken through the rain. By the way, all of these photos are pretty dense and if you want to see more detail, you can just click on each for a larger image.

What does not show up well is how sunlight catches on chips of mirror and glazes--iow, the mosaic sparkles!

Hopefully the pool will stay open and people will be enjoying this for years to come.