Mosaic details
“Everyone can be creative in ways they don’t expect,” said Jessica Liddell, lead artist of a unique mosaic at Harrisburg’s Chutes and Ladders playground at Reservoir Park.
Built into the hillside are snaking slides and play equipment invoking the board game of the same name. The mosaic represents the collective artwork of unnamed neighbors who share a story through stone and glass tiles, complementing the park with handmade pieces from a thousand volunteers.
“There’s something special about it, and it fosters community pride when someone passes by a project they worked on,” Liddell said. “We wanted to incorporate as many people as we could.”
The mosaic’s pieces were crafted by volunteers during the 2023 Memorial Day weekend at the Artsfest booth overlooking the Susquehanna River. Incorporating local clays from Pennsylvanian sources, the mosaic now stands as a permanent reminder of the creativity of a community.
“Jessica knew we wanted a colorful design that depicted elements of ‘play’ and nature, which we felt tied in with the park,” said Cortney Ranck-Cameron, Harrisburg’s manager of special events and marketing. “Jessica and volunteers showed (Artsfest) attendees how to create their own ceramic tile.”
Artist assistant Heather McCord and volunteer installing the mosaic
By the end of the event, they had over 1,000 tiles, which then were glazed and fired, and, finally, assembled into the mosaic.
Peggy Spellman was one of the volunteers who worked under Liddell’s direction to assemble and install the tiles in the Chutes and Ladders mosaic. Spellman crafts mosaics at home and volunteered on other community mosaics, including at the Coexist Gallery in Steelton.
“I enjoy using broken glass to create something beautiful,” Spellman said. “I love the idea that broken things, situations, people can be restored.”
Spellman started working with stained glass when she inherited her father’s stained glass and tools.
“I’m drawn to doing mosaics because it’s easy to do,” she said. “I can use stained glass pieces, stones, shells, beads and small objects to create something unique. Also, I can create mosaics on a wall, window, table top, bowls, bird bath.”
In addition to contributing to the creation of the park mosaic, Spellman was one of the first to use the Chutes and Ladders playground, when she brought her 3-year-old grandson Omar to play by the newly constructed mosaic.
“I love the project at Reservoir Park because it involved the community from the creation of the tiles to the creation of the wall,” Spellman said. “While we were working on the wall, all kinds of people were invited to help, including children, moms and grandparents. They were all so excited that they were able to help create something that will be able to be enjoyed for years to come.”
Jessica Liddell
Making a mural that will last “for years to come” is a challenge for the artist. Liddell observed that mosaics meant for the outdoors must have an especially dense clay to keep moisture out of the tile.
“Outdoor projects are more technically complicated,” she said. “They have to withstand the elements, like snow, and special tiles are fired to a high temperature.”
For Liddell, mosaics are more than background art—she has built a career through the medium. Inspired by a visit to Gaudi’s “La Sagrada Familia” in Barcelona, she started her foray into the art world in San Francisco’s Mission District, a neighborhood famous for its vibrant murals. Her husband, a Pennsylvania native, brought her east, where she made a name for herself on the Philadelphia art scene with hundreds of celebrated public mosaics and murals made through her business, Bella Mosaic Art.
“I love working in this way,” she said. “From far away, you might notice something. I invite people to take a closer look. I try to make projects with interactive details.”
The mosaic at Chutes and Ladders helps beautify the park, adding charm and character to the community in a way that only art can do.
“I love to see art projects such as the one at Chutes and Ladders or the 40-plus murals throughout the city add a pop of color in a space,” Ranck-Cameron said. “It takes what would have been an empty wall, or in the case of this project, a standard bench, and adds something with more meaning that people can connect to. It helps enhance the character of a space.”
The Chutes and Ladders Playground is located at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
