Heidi Dauphin

Solterra Suns
Avondale public art project is completed
Reception:
Sunday, January 27, 3-5pm
295 E. Van Buren St., Avondale, AZ

Happy New Year! I hope that your year is off to a fabulous start. Mine is! Because I installed this project in the first week of 2019. After 6 months of designing, planning, meeting, and approving, I started fabricating in July. I spent the last half of 2018 making tiles, drying tiles flat, firing tiles, glazing tiles, firing tiles again, laying out tiles, trimming tiles (on the tile saw), thin setting tiles in place, grouting tiles, and finally saying good bye to tiles. It has been an amazing process and with every public art project, and incredible learning experience.

Please join me on site on Sunday, January 27 from 3-5pm to view the art,
if you are in the Phoenix area.

The piece is located at:
Bridgewater Assisted Living
295 E. Van Buren Street
Avondale, AZ 85323

Thanks to E2 Innovations for fabricating the metal frames and installing the two 500 lbs. panels on site. Everyone there is amazing to work with. I can't imagine doing a project this large without them.

May the long time sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on. -Mike Heron

sung at the end of every Kundalini yoga class

Here is a little background as to how it all happened:

July. I first draw the full size design on plastic and use this pattern to cut tiles.

Each tile is numbered on the plastic and the bottom off the clay tiles.

July- Aug. These are some of the first tiles cut. Drying between drywall and sheets.

There are about 250 tiles on each panel, so about 500 tiles total in this project.

September. One panel of bisque (the first firing) tiles completed.

Studio view

October. The first metal frame in the metal shop.

I designed them, but E2 Innovations fabricated them.

October. Glazing.

Two glazed suns after the second firing.

9 kiln loads of glaze firing.

10 different colors of glaze.

October. The first metal frame arrives in my studio.

Now powder coated with finished color and ready to fill with tiles.

Weighs approximately 250 lbs.

Each metal panel had to have cement board cut to fit it.

Then it was epoxied and bolted into place.

This is the surface that I thinset the tiles to.

Mid October. Tiles laid out but not attached.

November - December. The long process of cutting tiles on the tile saw

and then thinsetting them in place permanently.

By this point I have handled each tile at least 10 times.

Mid November. The first panel grouted and completed.

Right after this picture was taken, this panel was lifted (500 lbs. now) and loaded on the truck and the second empty panel took its place in my studio.

This was such a good day in some ways and then a very depressing day in other ways.

I had to do it all over again!

I finished grouting the second panel on January 4.