Music Out Loud mosaic in honor of Verne Eke, by Jennifer Kuhns

On Saturday, April 28, there was a dedication for three new mosaic sidewalk inlays in Downtown Olympia as part of the Music Out Loud program. Each mosaic was designed by a different local artist in honor of a musician who has been influential in the development of Olympia's music scene. The City plans to expand on this program, creating more memorial public art pieces in the future, and also scheduling live music events on the sites.

You can learn more about the overall project, including watching how it was installed by the Belarde Company, here: https://youtu.be/2xkWOLaIdPk

That's me, speaking at the dedication.

At the dedication, I spoke to the gathered crowd, explaining Verne Eke's design concept. While the above video and other articles about Music Out Loud articulate the overall project and each of the musicians being honored, I thought it would be useful to write a post about this specific design.

Verne Eke's likeness in mosaic.

From speaking with Verne's friends, I learned that he was a dynamic and fun person, but he didn't strive for center stage. He played piano and conducted orchestras, and it sounds like he saw the potential in the people he knew and encouraged them to perform. He created opportunities for others to shine, putting on musicals and fundraising for new venues for performing arts and music. I made Verne Eke the central focus of this design in a literal way, with a portrait, because I felt it was his turn to take the spotlight.

Verne's friend and sidekick, Jim This, emphasized that the piano should be prominent, along with a reference to his role as a conductor of orchestras. So, I backed the portrait with a ribbon that is part piano, and part music.

Verne loved musicals, and I noted that Hello Dolly was one of the shows he put on. I attended a performance of Hello Dolly when I was 4 years old, and I never forgot it. It was a special experience for me. While working on the design, I had the main song in my head throughout. I looked up the music sheets from the song and used a note progression from the phrase "It's good to have you back where you belong..." Verne was the primary force behind the development of the Washington Center for Performing Arts. Everyone who was around Verne during that time period says the Center would not exist if not for Verne. Now his likeness is permanently installed right in front of the entrance, and the musical phrase in the mosaic speaks to that.

One last detail is the circle logo for the Washington Center. Because the mosaic is directly in front of the building, it seemed redundant to make this element too bold. However, this is a signature accomplishment of Verne Eke's, and he worked very hard to raise the money and lobby for it, so it is in the background, but in a similar color and value to the concrete to make it subtle.

It has been an honor and pleasure to work on this project. It is completely different from any of my previous public art works because I did not fabricate the mosaic or install it. I consulted with the fabricator to finalize details, and I wasn't even involved in the installation at all - very strange for me! But it was also nice to know it was in capable hands, and I had time to work on other projects with pressing deadlines instead. And now I have a public art mosaic in my own community, in a prominent location, and there's even a plaque with my name included! I actually have never had a client place a plaque in or adjacent to any of my work, giving credit to the artist until now, and it means a lot to me.

One more, showing the excellent fabrication work.