Canada 150 Mosaic

The Mosaic That Started a Local Phenomenon

In the summer of 2016, volunteers at Clayworx (formerly known as the London Clay Art Centre) successfully applied for two grant opportunities from the provincial and federal governments in advance of Canada's 150th birthday in 2017. The phenomenal success of this project spawned two more community wayfinding and gateway mosaic projects in London's Old East Village (OEV).

The original grant proposal stated:

"The London Potters Guild (LPG) is designing, creating, and installing a permanent, large-scale commemorative mosaic on the east exterior wall of London Clay Art Centre (LCAC) at 664 Dundas St. in London’s Old East Village. The finished mosaic will comprise thousands of clay tiles to which coloured glaze has been applied by hundreds of members of the public at community events throughout the late spring and summer of 2017. The colourful and eye-catching design concept includes both the Ontario and Canada 150 logos; the words “London Clay Art Centre”, and approximately 10 graphic elements representing important facts about or significant milestones in the history of Ontario, Canada and London. The mosaic project will showcase LPG members’ talent and expertise in clay art. In addition, it will harness the talent of hundreds of members of the diverse community of London to contribute to the successful completion of a permanent work of art."

Bringing the Mosaic to Life

Local artists and LPG members Susan Day and Beth Turnbull Morrish were hired as Artist/Coordinators in early 2017 to hone the design, coordinate and run tile-making workshops with community organizations, and install the mosaic on LCAC's cinder block wall before winter came.

Original concept drawing, Day

Finished Canada 150 mosaic, 664 Dundas St.

In an eight-month period, Day and Turnbull Morrish finalized the design, made, glazed, and fired thousands of clay tiles. They benefited from the help of over 80 LPG members and hundreds of volunteers at community events. The artist coordinators and many volunteers finally installed an estimated 18,000 pieces of tile on the east exterior wall of London Clay Art Centre at 664 Dundas Street.

The London Clay Art Centre’s Celebrate 150 Mosaic is a legacy art installation. Its monumental presence contributes to the vitality of London’s Old East Village and will be a source of civic pride for generations of Londoners to come.

See below for the list of community partners who participated in tile making sessions throughout the spring and summer of 2017. We thank them for their interest and enthusiasm in helping us create this amazing work of art for the whole community of London.

Interesting Facts and Figures:

650 volunteers participated in tile making, from 25 groups and events.
Size of the Mosaic: ~34½’ x 26’ = 900 square feet
If the tiles were standard 4” tiles that would be 8100 tiles; many of ours are much smaller than that!
The main image is made up of 17 human figures, each almost 7’ tall, each made by a different community partner group. The human figures are over a map of Canada, made up of blue and green tiles, blue impressed with names of bodies of water, and green impressed with place or native plant names.
2400 black letter tiles make up the border, spelling out the names of all the indigenous nations of Canada and all the countries of the world.
Over 400 individuals made tiles to make up the turtle shell design. Only about 200 were included due to space limitations, nevertheless, they are all beautiful.
Hundreds of pieces of pottery were donated by London Potters Guild members and glazed red for the signage section.

Community partners that participated in tile-making workshops:

Ark Aid Street Mission
Black History Month
Canadian Mental Health Association: Art Therapy Group, Crouch Library
City Art Centre (Mental Health Services consumers)
Eagle Heights PS ESL (Syrian Refugees)
Fugitive Slave Chapel Preservation Project
FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association
BealART Ceramics Class
HB Beal SS Native Literature Class
Home County Folk Festival
Hutton House
L'Arche
London Artists Studio Tour
London Potters Guild (members and friends, families and passersby)
Lord Roberts PS (French Immersion)
Military Families Resource Centre
My Sisters Place
Old East Village Business Improvement Association
Open Closet (LBGT2Q Youth)
Sarnia Lambton Potters Guild
Thames Valley Children's Centre
Western University Indigenous Student Services
Writers group
YMAP (A YMCA Integration & Leadership Program – Mapping the Way for
Newcomer Youth

About Clayworx's Canada 150 Project Artists

Susan Day has built a career as a ceramic artist exploring her interest in the human body and its interactions, and her love of the painted ceramic surface. Susan's work has often been political and difficult and has generally been executed as large-scale images on handmade ceramic tile installed in public places. Susan studied at BealART, ArtsSake, and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), and has been a resident artist at The Banff Centre and The Archie Bray Foundation. Susan's website

Beth Turnbull Morrish is a potter who creates beautiful functional ware embellished with text and patterns that are a pleasure to use and elevate the everyday rituals of eating and drinking. Beth is a teacher, technician and long-time member of The London Potters Guild who enjoys sharing her passion for clay. Beth studied at BealART before earning her Bachelor of Fine Art with a major in Ceramics from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD). Beth's website

Susan Day (left) and Beth Turnbull Morrish (right), artist coordinators for LCAC's Canada 150 mosaic

We would like to acknowledge the support of the following funders who made LCAC's Canada 150 mosaic possible:

Photos of Canada 150 Mosaic by photographer Preston Gervais

Clayworx's Canada 150 Mosaic