Client: City of Peoria

Overview

Sundial sculpture inspired by the beauty of the hummingbird and the fact that many species of them live and thrive in Arizona. The dial is composed of 150,000 glass mosaic tiles depicting a desert landscape at sunset. Materials: Aluminum, glass mosaic tiles. Dimensions: 7’ x 18’ x 18’

Goals

The sundial represents the changing seasons and the passing of time, the purpose of the artwork is to create a unique identity and sense of place for the park. In addition the sundial provides an opportunity for the the public to better understand nature, the seasons, the earth, and the solar system in a hands-on manner. Children and adults who visit the park will be able to casually interact with the sundial while learning how it works.

Process

In order to bring this project to life we worked in close collaboration with our mosaic glass manufacturer. The sundial’s on ground design is made of approximately 148,000 individual 6.21 mm thick Vetriluxe Italian glass tiles. The manufacturing process consists of stamping or pressing raw materials in the form of fine powder into the mosaic shapes which is then conveyed through a linear kiln for fusion and annealing. The result is an extremely durable glass mosaic suitable for high-traffic outdoor flooring applications.  
The sundial’s hummingbird was fabricated in-house using heavy gauge aluminum plate.