HCHSA X UH | Mosaic Tile Fountain
I was given the amazing opportunity to collaborate with the Harris County Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA) and UH Art Students to create a memorial public art piece honoring local Houston Sports Legends. This project coincided with HCHSA’s 25th Anniversary, with the big reveal on September 29th, 2022!
In this project I collaborated on these pieces:
George Foreman (portrait and glove)
A.J. Foyt (portrait, wreath, background)
Carl Lewis (arm, jersey, left half of the background)
Golf ball
Rodeo boot
Boxing glove (hand portion, wrinkles)
Basketball (tile realignment)
Houston Sports Hall of Fame piece (lettering and background).
There I am! Wearing my orange floral blouse and black jeans on the far left side!
I’ll never forget this day, because all of my hard work throughout the month leading up to this reveal was exciting, and challenging, and made me truly proud of my work. Pulling off the large red tarp felt so exhilarating, like finally showing off an art piece to a client and watching their eyes swell at the finished result.
That’s exactly how I felt, at that exact moment, as George Foreman and his family gasped (positively, I pray) at the portrait I was responsible for.
THE George Foreman, pointing at MY artwork?!
I’m so thankful there was plenty of press coverage from many different angles to show off all of our hard work! I was so absorbed at the moment I barely got any photographs for myself. The video below, provided through Jason Bristol, shows the exact moment I shook George Foreman’s hands and had a brief, but memorable conversation with him. George Foreman is from Marshall, Texas which is a mere 45 minutes from my own hometown - now I don’t plan on becoming a big-time star as he has, but it gives me hope that a small-town girl like me can make my own impact on the world in my own way.
I was astonished at how large his hands were compared to mine and how hearty his handshake was. It was such a beautiful moment for me and made me happy to make a connection with “Big George.”
Watching him share this happy moment with his children and grandchildren reignited my passion as an artist, to create artwork that inspires others and conveys messages, hoping to elicit an emotion from the said piece.
I can’t say it enough, but I’m so thankful that Opie trusted me enough to create Foreman’s portrait - as he had done most of the portraits for other sports legends’ pieces.
Famous athlete and instructor Carl Lewis also loved his artwork! I helped complete his jersey and a majority of the background - which is his dedicated athletic center at the University of Houston, the Carl Lewis International Complex. I got to briefly speak with him as well and he was incredibly kind, enthusiastic, and supportive! I can only imagine how he impacts track & field students at the University of Houston and pushes them to their full potential.
This was incredibly exciting for me, not only because was this my first big collaborative project outside of school, but because I was under the art direction of MLB’s beloved artist, Opie Otterstad. I know I definitely drove him crazy by asking specific questions about how to proceed with mosaic tile pieces and which tile looks better compared to another tile. I know he’ll never understand my ‘slave music’ (people in the idol industry under terrible contracts) but will never forget all of the students sharing their music, interests, and icebreaker questions about why they chose art.
I’ll also forever be grateful for his wife, Ariel, sharing those AMAZING cranberry chocolate cookies that were so tasty!
If they asked me on for a project again, I’d go back in a heartbeat! Such lovely people all around and such an amazing, learning experience that I will carry on with me forever.
