Local artist William Saltzman created the sculpture “And the Bush Was Not Consumed” for the Temple of Aaron synagogue in St. Paul. The sculpture is located on the wall near the east entrance and features colorful mosaic tiles.

The Temple of Aaron’s Jubilee Commemorative Book says:

“[Saltzman's] sculptural work in the colors of fire that have graced the Temple’s wall adjacent to the front door ‘And the bush was not consumed’ gives visitors a taste of the excitement that they can experience inside–the flaming enthusiasm of the Temple of Aaron’s members for their building and their congregation.”

In addition to the exterior sculpture, Saltzman also created the synagogue’s stained glass windows and a painting at the rear of the sanctuary.

This mosaic/sculpture/mural combo created by John Acosta in 2000 celebrates Castillo Park on St. Paul’s West Side, named for Nicolas Carrizales Castillo Sr. (the guy featured on the mural on the back). Castillo was an activist, humanitarian, musician and veteran, as well as a father, husband and friend.

It’s a cool mix of various mediums, though it’s uncertain how well it will stand up to the elements. A day after hard rains the sculpture had water pooling on the backside, which can’t be good for the inlaid mosaic pieces.

This mosaic mural is on the west side of the ArtScraps store in St. Paul, run by ArtStart. The artist is unknown.

This public art park was created in 1991-1992 by a group of six guest artists and 30 youth volunteers led by Marilyn Lindstrom. It includes a mural on the wall (which seemed to be removed in winter when I visited) and a mosaic arch (which appears to have replaced an original arch that wasn’t a mosaic).

This six-foot mosaic sculpture by Sharra Frank is called “Princess Amaradevi” and stands in front of the SteppingStone Theatre building in St. Paul. It was a COMPAS ArtsWork project and Frank had the help of eight apprentice artists, ranging in age from 14-19: P. Croix Farnham, Janet Milinos, Claire Oslund, Doua Thao, Reily Seitz, Adam Seitz, Carolyn Soley and Laura Willis.

According to the artist’s site:

“The sculpture represents Princess Amaradevi, a Cambodian folktale character who symbolizes honesty and courage. The Steppingstone Theatre works to develop and support children in a diverse, non-competitive community. Young artist’s creativity, self expression and confidence is fostered and encouraged. Sharra and her apprentices goal was to communicate these important elements that define Steppingstone’s mission through the sculpture, Princess Amaradevi, who now greets the young actors and their families at the entrance of the theatre.”

The sculpture is made out of steel rebar, metal mesh and cement and then covered with a mosaic of glass, beads and mirror fragments. Read more about the work and see in-process photos on the artist’s site.

The Resource Center of the Americas commissioned this mosaic mural in 2001. Three Minnesota artists–Gustavo Lira, Lori Greene and Deborah Ramos–collaborated with four Mexican artists–José Luis Soto, Isa Campos, María Guadalupe García Rojas and Crescencio Méndez Gaspar (part of a Mexican art collective known as Taller de Investigación Plástica) along with hundreds of volunteers on the project.

Since the Resource Center of the Americas closed in 2007 the future of the mural is uncertain.

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.

CityPages named John Grider one of their 2007 Artists of the Year and his unique stenciled work has been popping up across Minneapolis. This mural features “Billy” the goat (which makes frequent appearances in Grider’s work) and is on the side of Salon Stella in Minneapolis.

This mural was made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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.

This is a 1992 sculpture by Amy Cordova, featuring mosaic tile work by Laura Schlick.