A River Runs Through

Gary Drostle's River of Life by Julie Richey

The below extract is taken directly from the published article - Mosaic Art NOW, No. 4, 2011:

You can't miss the river when driving into Iowa City, Iowa. The whole town climbs up from its meandering banks. At some points wildly overgrown, at others chastened with minor dams, the river appears placid as it snakes through the University of Iowa campus. Locals know, however, that the river occasionally creeps - or even surges - over its banks. This image of a river as a metaphor for life is the subject of award-winning UK mosaic artist Gary Drostle's largest public commission to date.

One of three large public commissions installed at the University of Iowa in 2010, Drostle's mosaics are a stunning focal point and a welcome addition to the extensive University of Iowa art collection.

Created for the University of Iowa Wellness Center, the River of Life and its accompanying medallion, Movement and Vitality, welcome visitors at the main entrance to this state-of-the-art, $59 million facility. The main mosaic, a 48 by 12 foot "river" of Winckelman porcelain tile, invites viewers to step across its spiralling source and meander, following he flow of both water and student athletes. 

"The course of tesserae are like people's lives," says Drostle. "They start at the top or source, with birth. Some of them don't quite make it," he says, alluding to the infrequent stray lines of tile that snake off the main body of the river, seemingly on their own random journey. The darkest areas of the river are "life out of balance," where the River of Life flows over the darkened quilt and basket patterns, spilling over the perimeter."

Henry B. Rothberg played a vital role in the selection of materials and the support. To continue reading what Gary Drostle had to say about LATICRETE and the products used on this amazing mosaic click here.

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