The Art of Mosaics

by Diana Nagler

Fortunately, for millions of children across the country, the lackluster playground designs of the past have been replaced with an increase in the use of color and variety for community parks. Today's playgrounds have become an oasis of highly engineered play structures combined with dramatic decorative features. Gone are the days when a Landscape Architect could employ the use of a simple, standardized playground design. The modern playground is now a showcase for the diversity of the community and the history of the location.

Revitalizing Crotona Park

Crotona Park is a heavily populated area located in the Bronx, New York. As part of an effort to restore countless New York City parks, portions of Crotona Park recently underwent a revitalization process. The 100-acre site now contains several uniquely designed playgrounds that have become a favorite gathering spot for neighboring communities and school children. "Each playground has a different theme," said Bob Cook, Design Project Manager, City of New York Parks & Recreation. An effort was made to have every site amenity invoke some meaning or connection to the land.

Located near Indian Lake, Jimmy Carter Playground and Indian Lake Playground were both revamped by the Vollmer Associates in New York City. The design team created the landscape plan for the reconstruction of both playgrounds, and prepared the schematic design, contract documents, estimates and specifications for the project. In an effort to incorporate more green space within the park, existing trees once enclosed by asphalt and concrete are now surrounded by a rolling lawn area. The new design of the park pays homage to the former President while simultaneously celebrating the site's Native American history.

The play equipment blends in with the other amenities at the site and helps focus attention towards a unique centerpiece: In the middle of the playground sits a large circular spray fountain surrounded by seat walls decorated with Indian mosaics. "In addition to the equipment, one of the most interesting parts of the playground is the colorful Indian mosaics," said Cook.

Making the Most of Mosaics

A mosaic is a decoration made by fitting together small pieces of colored glass, stone, ceramics, or other material. The pieces are set in cement to form a pattern on a surface, usually a floor, wall, or ceiling. The pieces or cubes, called tesserae, typically consist of colored marble for floors and colored glass for walls and ceilings. Although mosaic decoration is most frequently found on floors, walls, and ceiling surfaces, closely set colored tesserae may also be applied to sculptures, panels, and other objects.

Artist Judith Wadia

Wadia created the brightly colored Indian mosaic images at the playground in conjunction with the landscape design team. In order to utilize the appropriate images, the team completed extensive research regarding the history of the location. The landscape firm studied the tribes of the area and consulted cultural experts about East Coast Native Americans. Many different Indian images were incorporated into the design of the mosaics and the surrounding areas. Ultimately, the designs that were chosen depict animal forms such as turtles and birds, mountains and lakes, rain clouds and pottery designs, as well as other images such as masks, sunbursts and wampum's. All of the images are meant to reflect the site's past.

One of the more prominent images at the site is the Indian wampum. The horizontal rectangular shape represents a wampum "freedom" belt and symbolizes the meandering paths of the Native Americans across the land. "The Native Americans assumed that when they gave a belt with this design to the colonists, that they retained the right to cross the land," explained Wadia. "I used the same purple and white colors of the Atlantic Ocean clamshell that the Native Americans used for the beads on the belt."

Crotona Park is a 100-acre site which showcases several uniquely designed playgrounds. The area has become a favorite gathering spot for neighboring communities and school children. Located near Indian Lake, Jimmy Carter Playground and Indian Lake Playground contain play structures (above) that were manufactured by GameTime, using its premier product line called PowerScapes. Artist Judith Wadia helped to create the design for the Indian mosaics (see facing page) at the playground. In the middle of the playground sits a large circular spray fountain (see previous page and above) surrounded by seat walls decorated with Indian mosaics.

The mosaics at the playground are composed of hundreds of solid, hand-made opaque glass tesserae called smalti imported from Italy by material supplier Orsoni Mosaici. The smalti are approximately 5/8" x 3/8" x 1/4" and available in hundreds of colors. Once the number and placement of the mosaic inserts had been determined, the installation team began the process of creating the images using the chosen Indian symbols.

The first step involved tracing the full-scale design backwards on sheets of heavy brown paper. The colors are then selected and placed in the design. Some colors are mixed together in order to produce a more dramatic shade, while other pieces are left as solid colors. The smalti are then attached to paper in order to form the reverse of the design. The pieces are glued with a temporary water-soluble mixture made from flour, water, and gum arabic.

At this point, the location has already been prepared for the mosaics. Installers inserted oiled, wooden templates into wet cement to form the spaces that will ultimately receive the smalti. The installation begins by spreading a thin layer of cement in the indented spaces. The mosaic is then pressed into the cement with the brown paper facing the outside.

Once the installation was complete, the design team made sure that Indian mosaics were safe and functional. "We had to be careful that the mosaics on the seat walls were smooth and without rough edges," said Wadia. Various tests were performed to ensure the absence of sharp and dangerous edges.

Studies have shown that the longevity of a playground is directly related to the commitment of the community. If visitors feel a sense of ownership towards the play-ground, it has a better chance of surviving the rigors of heavy traffic and public use. The threat of vandalism decreases when the community feels a personal tie to the location.