Minneapolis artist Angela Carlson Talle created this mosaic mural on the west side of the Peace House in Minneapolis. She covered the side of the two-story building with tiles and mirror pieces donated by the Minneapolis Glass Company and the Tile Shop with the help of her mother, Cindy Carlson, and members of the Peace House Community.

The Peace House describes the content of the mosaic:

“In the center of the Mosaic is a memorial to the founder of Peace House, Sister Rose Tillemans. There are also tiles recognizing members of the Peace House Community, people who perhaps don’t often see their names affixed to something as beautiful and as permanent as the Peace House Mosaic.”

Read more about the mural and see pictures of the project in-process.

In 2005 Angela Carlson Talle mosaiced a chimney at the Lao Market on University Avenue in St. Paul. Three years later it’s now the Bangkok Thai Supermarket and Minnesota winters have done a number on the mosaic tile. In 2008 Talle restored the work, fixing many of the broken and missing tiles and giving the chimeny a thorough spurcing up.

The detail and general color and surprise of a mosaic piece like this is cool, offering pedestrians and shoppers much more than the usual dull building. It’s the kind of work that invites closer inspection.