Press Release:

CONTACT:
Pat Welsh (858) 755-2554
Betsy Schulz (858) 755-3913

The Del Mar Library Wall Mixed-Media Mural
The Del Mar Library Wall Mixed-Media Mural was designed by Pat Welsh, an author of garden books and lifelong artist, in collaboration with Betsy Schulz, graphic artist and muralist. The project was inspired by a wish. In May 2002, at a meeting of the Del Mar Garden Club, Pat Welsh overheard fellow garden-club member Thania Griffith remark, “I wish someone would do something about that ugly concrete-block wall in front of the library.”

Pat thought, “ I could cover it with a mixed-media mural like the one I just finished in my garden”, She drove past the wall, phoned her daughters, and told them her idea. Each of Pat’s daughters, Francie Filanc and Wendy Woolf said it was a huge project, and that it might be difficult to get the town of Del Mar to go along with it. “People think of you as a garden expert,” said Wendy, “They don’t know you’re an artist.”

But the project seemed to have a life of its own. Pat mentioned the idea to several friends. One of them, Kim Filanc, introduced Pat to Betsy Schulz who agree to collaborate on the creation of a mural for the retaining wall in front of the library. The mural was to have the same color scheme and materials as the one in Pat’s garden and be made of brick, terra cotta tile, black rocks, and rusty “found” objects with an undulating wave pattern and an ocean theme. Betsy’s skills in graphic arts, mosaic murals, and her business connections with tile artists, such as Laird Plumleigh, would be invaluable.

Betsy took photos of Pat’s wall and the library wall with a digital camera. Using her graphic-arts skills and the computer, she combined photographs of Pat’s wall with images of some recently created mosaic pavement in Pat’s garden and photographs of her own mosaic work and superimposed these onto the photograph of the library wall. She then created a stunning prospectus with pictures folding out to show the wall as it then existed and how it would look when covered with the proposed mural.

Pat gave the prospectus to Bob Scott in the Planning Department of the City of Del Mar and others in Del Mar City Hall where it met with approval. On the day the new Tot Lot was dedicated, Pat met Pam Slater in Powerhouse Park and told her about the wall project. The following week Pat sent Pam the prospectus and a covering letter applying for a $10,000 grant of matching funds to build the mural. She received the grant.

Meanwhile, Pat and Betsy had become full partners and decided the mural would incorporate original terra- cotta base relief, in the shape of local shore birds, fishes, and a few native animals plus Torrey Pine trees. They applied for and received joint sponsorship from the Del Mar Garden Club and the Friends of the Library. (Both of these groups later donated to the project.) In order that donors could receive a tax deduction The Del Mar Foundation agreed to act as a repository of funds. Any excess funds are to be given equally for Street Beautification and the Library. Pat applied to the Design Review Board and the City Council for the necessary permits and met with some opposition from a local citizen. However, enthusiasm for the wall was also building. Even children were interested, including eleven-year-old Mollie Friedlander, and several of Mollie’s friends who held a car wash and bake sale and gave all the proceeds to the Library Wall Project. Betsy Schulz worked at getting letters of approval. By now the pair had collected almost $20,000 in funding, close to the $25,000 they had budgeted for the project.

During the summer and fall of 2002, Pat, Betsy, and several volunteer artists, including Tatjana Schulz, Patrice Fink, Judy Burks, Becky Dembitsky, and Wendy Woolf spent many weeks sculpting over 30 base-relief birds, animals, fishes, and Torrey Pine trees out of professional modeling clay purchased from Laird Plumleigh. They worked outdoors in Pat’s patio, overlooking the ocean, on old wooden patio tables. Laird and one of his associates, Hans Tegebo, gave technical advice. Each piece was to be finished smoothly with no undercutting.

At their September meeting the City Council donated $5,000 in City funds for the project and asked for a scale drawing to be submitted to Design Review. Pat made the drawing and Betsy computerized it. The pair submitted the drawing and computerized scheme to Design Review and received all necessary permits. Betsy transported all the sculptures to Laird’s studio where Hans Tegebo made molds of each one, over 30 molds in all. During December a large number of volunteers, including the artists named above, came to Laird’s studio in Leucadia and pressed terra cotta clay into the molds. They worked for over a week, used approximately 50 bags of terra cotta clay, and made at least two examples of every design, to allow for breakage.

Meanwhile, Pat and Betsy with the help of Dean Johnson and his son Matt had collected metal “found objects” from defunct nurseries, old farms, and the contracting business of one of Pat’s sons-in-law, Peter Filanc. They then set up a full size template of the mural on Pat’s driveway with all the objects arranged onto paper Dean had cut to the size of the actual wall. Betsy collected old tiles from Laird, broke them up with a hammer, and created the wave of mosaic incorporating many small objects of memorabilia. People of the town dropped by to bring objects and see the template and Betsy’s green and blue mosaic as it developed. Townspeople brought such diverse objects as fossils, polished rocks, crockery from the old Del Mar hotel dug up in gardens, old railroad spikes, apothecary bottles from the 19th century, even a piece of the Berlin Wall.

In early January, the base reliefs were ready to fire. Laird and Hans loaded the kiln, and Pat and Betsy traced the design from the template onto a plastic sheet and from the tracing onto the Library Wall. After three days slow firing Pat, Betsy, and their volunteer artists unloaded the kiln straight into their cars, sped to the wall and using a good quality of Thinset, a product made from cement and various plastics, they immediately applied the base relief sculptures to the wall in the places marked. By the end of the day all of the sculptures were hung.

For three weeks in January, Pat, Betsy, Dean, Matt, and many volunteers have worked from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00p.m. on weekdays to build the mural. Sometimes there have been as many as 15 volunteers applying the background of small, black, river rocks. Meanwhile, Betsy Schulz has been applying every bit of the mosaic wave pattern herself. All objects are being affixed to the wall with Thinset using care so that the face of the mural stays clean. Dean will cap the wall with brick which will jut slightly, according to City regulations. Prior to grouting the mural, it will be sealed with a coat of high-quality , oil-based sealer, to protect the finish. The mural will then be grouted. Finally at least two more coats of high quality, high-gloss, protective sealant will be applied.

Now that the wall is almost complete, donations are flooding in from local citizens who are eager to be a part of the process and would like to see their family’s name memorialized. Donor walls flanking the steps up to the library will have “Big Fishes” in the shape of terra cotta garibaldi fishes for a donation of $500 and smaller garibaldi fishes for a donation of $250. As the wall comes together Pat, Betsy, Dean, and all the volunteers who for months have worked so diligently on the mural are hoping that it will be a joy for local residents, visitors, and especially children for many years to come.
For more information visit: www.patwelsh.com and www.adesigngarden.com.

Click here to see the latest photos pf the project