This project was dreamed up by UWEC professor Jyl Kelley and was created with help from the Eau Claire Transit Authority, the UWEC Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, Student Office of Sustainability, and the Department of Art & Design.
Professor Kelley created the initial design we used as a guide to glue the glass tesserae to the panels, taking creative liberties when needed to make up for the divide between the digital pictures and the square pieces.
Here is the initial design we worked off of, making sure the dimensions of the six panels would properly scale to fit the windows.
Once we got the panels put together and the glass chopped up, we got to work arranging and gluing the pieces down with acrylic glue. We used a variety of different colored tesserae to imitate the light shining through the water
and to create gradients on the rocks and plants to simulate depth. Each panel took about a week to finish, after which they needed to be grouted and polished.
In addition to cutting specifically shaped pieces, we also etched the names of the fish and a thanks and recognition plaque using a laser engraver.
This required the text to be adjusted and sized to fit the weird shapes, which I did to ensure the quality and consistency of the text.
Before we could install the panels, we cleaned the windows and sides of the interior of the bus stop to make sure that the panels would be seen in full glory without any smudges or marks that could impede the view.
I cut and painted aluminum angles to hold the panels securely in place which were screwed into the frame and sealed after each mosaic was placed.
