Step off the train at Metra’s renovated Ravenswood stop, and a colorful new mosaic planter livens up what once was a monotonous stretch of self-storage and industrial buildings at West Leland and Ravenswood avenues in the neighborhood.
The new addition arrived in September 2023, and spring’s colorful flowers are enough to make passersby stop and look at an intersection they previously shuffled on through.
The mosaic is titled “Community,” by Pilsen artist Jamie Porto. Its previous home was the corner of Damen and Leland avenues. But that space is transforming into one of four new “People Spaces” sponsored by the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. So the planter took a ride east to its new digs by the upgraded train station.
“It has so much mirror on it. I love seeing the car and people reflections on it,” says Porto, as she reflects on the piece.
The mosaic’s “Community” theme is represented by worker bees adorning the sides of the planter, Porto said. The buzzing bumbles also play into Porto’s love of nature.
To start the planter, Porto held workshops with Ravenswood neighbors to help them create their own porcelain clay tiles and learn how to install them. For Porto, a former art teacher, this was a highlight of the project.
“I wanted the community’s hands to be on the piece themselves,” she says. Also, “the porcelain clay is great because the pores are tighter and don’t absorb water. They always withstand the Chicago weather.”
The students’ work included handmade flowers and petals, and hexagons with inspirational quotes about hope and community, she says. Porto added her own touch, etching bees into the pieces of mirror.
Another group of volunteers helped Porto apply the tiles to the surface of the planter and then smooth the grout — a sand and cement mixture — in between the pieces. Grout is permeable and helps the mosaic accommodate for the shrinking and expanding caused by moisture and temperature changes, Porto says.
“As an artist, I want people to get me, and get it, and feel like they can do this,” Porto says. “That was also another motive behind the mural. Make people feel like they can do this and this is who they are. They can be reminded of that by seeing this piece.”
“It’s fun to watch any person of any age or any background get that spark. You see the sparkle in their eyes when they get it: ‘Oh, this makes sense!’”
Porto now works in construction, but said her public art is enjoying something of a renaissance. She learned this week that a mosaic she installed in Pilsen a few years ago will be featured next season in an episode of the popular FX TV series “The Bear.”
“I don’t even own a TV,” jokes Porto, who won’t know how her art is used in the show until the episode runs.
