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| B.F. Day Tile |
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Elements in Nature If you walk along Fremont Ave N. just north of N. 39 th Street, you can enjoy the beautiful tile mosaic that is a collaboration between the Fremont Arts Council, students/teachers/staff from B.F. Day Elementary School, the B.F. Day PTA, Aruba Pottery, and the City of Seattle. The B.F. Day Tile project was created in 1995. The students and teachers at B.F. Day Elementary School continue to add new tiles every year to the ever evolving art project, now in its second decade. See their progress as the tiles expand eastward along the brick wall on N. 39 th St! Pasted below is the text from the original project announcement: "Opening Ceremony Tuesday, April 18th, 1995 (Carole Williams was the principal at the time) B.F. Day has long wanted a sign at the corner of 39th and Fremont to call attention to the presence of the historic school on the hill above this busy street. Graffiti on the concrete retaining wall had also become a problem. At the beginning of the '94-'95 school year, a serendipitous meeting between PTA members and the Fremont Arts Council led to a dream of covering the corner retaining wall with ceramic tiles created by B.F. Day students. Tile artist Steve Roache, owner of Aruba Pottery and Tile in Fremont, had worked with other schools on similar projects and proposed to coordinate the project. The PTA in cooperation with the Arts Council received funding from the Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple matching grant fund. Tile workshops were held at B.F. Day in January '95 and all day students made a tile. In addition, the public was invited to attend community workshops at the F.A.C. Powerhouse in February. The theme of the project is "Elements in Nature" and teachers and students chose a variety of sub-themes such as "weather", "salmon," "protecting and preserving our natural environment," for their artwork. A beautiful border tile featuring "vine and leaf" pattern was designed by Dave McKay. Fremont Arts Council artists also created a special design for each side of the Powerhouse building. Tiles were created and fired under the direction of Steve Roache of Aruba Pottery & Tile. Hundreds of volunteer hours went into the project including installation of the mural. We believe the project will be a special feature of the Fremont community for many years to come. |