Our Tarpon Springs mosaic mural project is a go!

Our long-time-coming Tarpon Mural project is a go!

The Why and the How
We have been involved in a planning process to do a mural in Tarpon Springs for three years. Part of the time was spent raising funds many through our garden tour last year and the other time was finding a location. The original location of the mural was in a vacant lot on Tarpon Avenue.

Doing a group project is a great way to bond with others and learn new skills. We love doing collaborative projects, party due to the fact that evolution is so fascinating. From conception to final product, a lot changes along the journey.To find out how this is all going to come together you’ll have to join us.

To read more about the location for the mural journey see this article

Location, Location, Location

As luck would have it, our second and final location for the mural ended up to be more desirable. The mural will be located on the side of the Ernest Meres Building. Built in 1914, The Meres was built by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott as the Hotel Meres. The building also included The Royal Theater where Will Rogers once performed. To find the location of the mural look for 100 E. Tarpon Avenue, a two story tan building visible from Alt. 19. The mural is adjacent to the parking lot (once Mother Meres Park) where the Tarpon Springs Farmers market is held on Sunday mornings.

Mural Design

Our 22′ x 20′ mural will be multi-media installation, mostly tile with some painted sections. We will be doing some of the mural in sections, gluing pieces on cement board. Our final product will resemble the sketch, but there will be significant differences due to the type of tile we use and the adjustments we make on the journey. So, don’t get to caught up with the details shown here.

Mural Subject

Our mural is dedicated to the memory of Mother Meres; one of Tarpon Spring’s most admired women, a humanitarian and gardener. Both qualities are attributes the Garden Fairies admire. When looking for a second location, we happened to ask Marleen Gravitz, Chairperson of the Tarpon Springs Public Art Committee. Marlene suggestions turned out to be a great fit, both location and subject matter. Quoting from the book “Tarpon Springs/ The early years.”Mother Meres with her fair, strong open face and soft German accent, was a trained florist and an inspired green-thumb gardener who supplied flowers for every public occassion, for parties and for the sick. As manager of the Fern Hotel she feasted her guests on fruit, vegetables, chickens and honey for her garden and mothered them if they needed it.

She was greatly loved and when she died in 1926 a tall floral urn inscribed “Mother Meres” was placed in her garden, which became a park. (fifteen years ago the park was converted into a parking lot). There will be a separate plaque describing Mother Meres achievements including historical photos.

Tile donations

If you have tile to donate your unused tile, hold onto it, we are assessing how much we still need to be donated.