Client: Villa Gardens Retirement Home

Overview

The project is a remodel for the dining room of a premiere retirement community located in Pasadena California. The mural is located at an alcove above the wainscot, totaling 15' wide and 4' high.

Goals

Villa Gardens caters to residents who have enjoyed ambiance of fine restaurants world wide. In their remodel of the dining room, they wanted a distinctive piece of art that speaks of the landscape and history of Pasadena. It needs to relate to the residents, evoking memories and associations. The color scheme was important to the interior designer. Blue, brown and cream were chosen for the interior finishes. The artwork featured the same colors.

Process

The designer, Mark Seres of CastleRock Design, specializes in senior citizen residences. He chose Cha-Rie Tang, the artist, because she is known to excel in carving Craftsman Style tiles which is well loved by homeowners especially in the Pasadena area. It was an easy collaboration. Given the dimensions, cost, completion date, the rest was left to the artist discretion.

Additional Information

Much thought was put into the subject matter of the mural. Pasadena's climate attracted affluent settlers in its early days who brought exotic plants and built wonderful gardens. The artist depicted a wide variety of of them and wove a story in the landscape. The completed mural is an elegant adornment of the space that evokes the imagination of the residents and refers to the uniqueness of the location.