The mosaic tile mural by ceramic artist Juliana Martinez features a child within a female and male figure, whose outstretched arms become tree branches. The imagery suggests the extension of compassion and understanding beyond the home and into the world. To create the artwork, Martinez and Monroe High School art teacher Sally Hall led two workshops for students. The class discussed how increased use of technology and social media has challenged how people traditionally develop meaningful relationships. They concluded that having consideration for one another and one’s self is integral to building and sustaining a healthy community and school environment. Following the discussion, the students created tiles that depict what respect might look like if it was represented as an organ in the body. Their tiles show many different perspectives and indicate the delicate nature of the relationship between mind and body. The artwork features more than 3,000 terra cotta, glass, porcelain and hand painted ceramic mosaic tiles. Martinez spent over six months shaping, glazing and firing each of the pieces that comprise the tree branches and some 300 hand sculpted roses in her small studio.

Juliana Martinez is a mosaic tile muralist and teacher who taught art in Los Angeles, throughout the United States and abroad for 28 years. She has completed artwork for several public agencies including the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. To learn more , visit: www.julianamartinezart.com