Mosaic Murals Installed on Art Garden Sign

Martinsville City Planner Susan McCulloch (center) and her daughters Dylan (left) and Maeve (right) help install tiles on the Art Garden sign during
Piedmont Arts’ Art Garden Community Day on May 20.

Community helps create murals at Art Garden Community Day

Artist Beryl Solla, Piedmont Arts staff and volunteers helped install tile murals on the gateway sign to Piedmont Arts’ new R.P. Gravely-A.J. Lester Art Garden on Saturday, May 20, during the museum’s Art Garden Community Day. 

Volunteers worked with Solla throughout the event to complete two tile murals on the front of the sign. Solla completed a total of six murals over the weekend. The two murals on the front of the sign feature plants native to Virginia, while the four murals on the back of the sign represent the four seasons.

Piedmont Arts staff and volunteers help prepare tiles to be installed on the Art Garden sign during Piedmont Arts’ Art Garden Community Day on May 20. 

L-R: Director of Exhibitions Heidi Pinkston, Joanie Petty of United Way and Piedmont Arts Board member Lucy Coleman.

“Each mural has a different theme,” said Director of Marketing, Communications and Design Bernadette Moore. “There is a dogwood, a butterfly, a pumpkin and a cardinal. All themes that are easily recognizable and that resonate with the community.”

A butterfly is one of six murals permanently installed on the sign to Piedmont Arts’ new R.P. Gravely-A.J. Lester Art Garden.

Solla has completed many public art projects in Virginia and has worked with students in Martinsville-Henry County on several in-school murals, as part of Piedmont Arts’ Educational Outreach Program. She is Chairman of the Art Department at Piedmont Virginia Community College. She received a BA from Florida International University and an MFA from the University of Miami – Florida.