A world-traveling mosaic artist visited Colorado this week to help transform the Niwot Market’s gray exterior into a work of art.
Laurel True led a five-day mosaic workshop starting Tuesday in front of the Niwot Market. The goal was to create a mural for the west-side wall of the Niwot Market, 7980 Niwot Road .
In the shade of a tent, just outside the market, 12 people from around the country, learned how to cut glittering bits of glass to fit together like puzzle pieces. When complete, the 8-foot in diameter mural will form a radial medallion, modeled after the Seed of Life — a symbol for growth and hope.
On Saturday, the mural will be installed. Sunday, the group will complete the finishing touches and host an informal dedication ceremony. True encouraged people to see the mural once it has been completed after 4 p.m.
“It’s kind of a creative place-making effort to turn a blank, gray, concrete wall into something gorgeous that attracts people and that people enjoy looking at,” True said.
For the past 25 years, True has created brightly colored and sometimes intricate murals in communities around the world. She helped to transform the white-washed walls of a hospital in Haiti into a lively display of the cosmos and flowers. And, she has left her artistic mark on communities in Africa, Europe, Turkey and Latin America. She studied with Isaiah Zagar, an award-winning street artist from Philadelphia, according to a biography on her website, truemosaics.com.
When she is not on the road, True divides her time between New Orleans and Portland, Ore. Along the way, she teaches various workshops that give people the tools to create their own community art.
Six months ago, when True was teaching an art class in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Samagra Melville and her partner David Schaldach , both of Boulder, asked if she would come to Colorado and host a workshop.
Melville, who is the property owner of the Niwot Market, said she felt a community-created mural would help to promote the family-owned market, which was founded in 2002.
“It became really apparent to me that she (True) is the best,” Melville said. “I wanted to bring her to Niwot, because when you live as long as I do, you see a lot of small towns bulldozed by big box stores and I’m just sick of that. This is a local owned market.”
As True sees it, a mural has the power to do more than transform a space.
“It just is a moment of joy looking at something beautiful,” she said.
