Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Installation – Part 2"

Wall 6 – Mind Games by Philomena Yeatman

Wall 7 – Wild Flowers by Valmai Pollard

Wall 8 – Muddy Tracks by Valmai Pollard

Previously we saw the delays that interrupted The Orchid Group^ team’s race against the clock to beat the heat to install the Shields Street Mosaic project. This week we feature the installation of each of the walls.

Apart from the general challenges that were common to all the walls posed by adapting two dimensional panels to the three dimensional installation, each of the images had their own separate idiosyncrasies. 

What became very evident from a creative perspective throughout the project was the role played by Creative Director Keith Murphy. Although called into the process by default he was crucial to managing the creative assets; adapting and modifying the imagery to help resolve the technical challenges all the while ensuring the expansion of the artwork looked unique (not a mirror repeat) and preserved the essence of the original works. In a more ideal world he would have been engaged from the outset guiding the imagery in close consultation with the installation team to achieve the balance of artistic integrity and technical excellence. 

The Shields Street Heart project was a significant undertaking with all of its complexities and challenges, however the one undeniable constant throughout the whole process was the installation system. LATICRETE Systems provided reliability, dependability and superior performance. 

“It was the one thing I didn’t have to think about. All the products; 254 Platinum, 3701 Fortified Mortar Bed, HYDRO BAN®, LATAPOXY® SP-100 and SPECTRALOCK® PRO Grout*, performed exceptionally well individually and as a complete system. Equally as important to using the right products is the technical support. The LATICRETE team provided me with all of the essential background and technical understanding for each of the products which allowed me to execute the installation with confidence knowing I was using the very best products and industry best practice with our methodology.” said Don. 

Click here to read the full story.

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics.
*United States Invention Patent No.: 6881768 (and other Patents)

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Installation - Part 1"

Over the last few weeks we have seen the lead up for the Shields Street Heart Mosaic project as the team prepared for the installation, which included exploring the translation of the imagery into the mosaic medium. This week The Orchid Group^ team experiences delays as the installation begins.

The project comprised of eight low walls divided into two sections.  Walls 1-6 were done in Stage I and walls 7-8 in Stage II.  The rendering of the walls in Stage I was completed in January but Stage II rendering, was not completed until mid-June as a colony of bats nursing their young, was residing in the trees above the site.  A Federal Conservation Act, restricted Council to continue with any works until the colony had moved away. 

In the weeks after leaving the site in January, Don prepared detailed drawings capturing the three dimensional shape of the walls for the manufacturer.  To be commercially viable the majority of the installation was to be created in a controlled environment off-site however, the three dimensional nature of the project was proving a considerable challenge for the mosaic supplier.  Production delays forced Council to cancel their contract and seek the supply of the mosaics from another manufacturer. 

The new supplier was similarly challenged with the three dimensional elements of the project  which resulted in large two dimensional panels being produced which greatly increased the amount of on-site stitching (the processing of cutting and laying one tile at a time to join two sheets) required to complete the project. Read the full story here.  

Next time, we see the additional challenges posed by each of the walls as the team completes the installation.

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Imagery"

Philomena Yeatman - "Mind Games"

Valmai Pollard - "Wild Flower"

Valmai Pollard - "Muddy Tracks"

The city of Cairns has a new iconic three dimensional Australian Indigenous mosaic artwork in the CBD recently completed by Don Macdonald and The Orchid Group^ team.  

Over the last few weeks we have seen the broad range of artistic and technical skills gained by the team to prepare them for such an undertaking.  We also saw the artists and the stories of their work. This week we explore the translation of the imagery into the mosaic medium.

The redevelopment of Shields Street in the Cairns CBD has enlivened the CBD with a culturally rich and engaging precinct for visitors and locals alike.  It features a range of local Indigenous artists in a variety of mediums sharing the wonderfully unique features of Cairns in the Rainforest to Ocean theme.

A significant artistic and cultural element of the redevelopment is the Shields Street Heart mosaic project.  Council undertook an exhaustive process to select the imagery from artists from the local Yarrabah Indigenous community finally selecting Edna Ambrym, Philomena Yeatman and Valmai Pollard

During Don’s first meeting with Council he expressed his concern that the installation of the mosaics had to be completed during the cooler months (June-August) due to the sensitivity of the epoxy adhesives and grout to heat.  The longest possible adhesive work time would be crucial as there were over 1,000,000 tiles to be laid, many being very small cut pieces, onto complex three dimensional shapes. Continue reading here.

Next time, "The Installation Part I".

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics.

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Artists"

Edna Embrym - "Coral Reef"

Edna Embrym - "Meeting Place"

Philomena Yeatman - "Beetle Species"

Previously we shared how Don Macdonald and The Orchid Group^ team prepared the walls for The Shields Street Heart Mosaic project. The Shields Street Mosaic Project featured imagery from three local Indigenous artists, and this week we find out about them and their inspirations.

Edna Embrym

Walls 1 & 3 - ‘The Reef’

A thousand words in an image – a hundred tales, intrigues and whispers about a reef that is ever moving, shaping, developing, changing and encompassing. These are the thematic bases that Edna Ambrym drew upon to form her visionary drafts of walls 1 and 3 in the Shield Street project.

Wall 2 - ‘Meeting Place’

To have the energy, optimism, familiarity and homeliness of this space celebrated by the Shield Street wall called ‘Meeting Place’ is not only apt and appropriate, but strengthening in the bonds of community and togetherness.

Philomena Yeatman

Walls 4 & 5 – ‘Bidi Bidi’

“In November and December the festive seasons arrives, as do the different colour Bidi-Bidi species.” Philomena Yeatman. Shimmering blues, greens, greys and burnt orange are but a few of the shades and hues that emanate from the bidi bidi (beetles) that arrive around year’s end in Cairns.

Wall 6 – ‘Mind Games’

“Some people are successful while others get left behind.  The colours in this painting represent the different ways of thinking.” Philomena Yeatman. This wall portrays the intricacies, complexities and convolutions that can occur within the fabric of thought, attitude and mind-set of individuals.

Valmai Pollard

Wall 7 – ‘Wild Flowers’

The ways in which Valmai has depicted the changes and formations of the wild flowers in this 3 dimensional art work, cements for us the notion that hope always exists, renewal is always happening and new beginnings are there for the taking whenever we need them

Wall 8 – ‘Muddy Tracks’

Valmai Pollard’s vision and skills have transformed a forgotten concept into a mesmerising and stunning work that contributes significantly to the appreciation we feel for our own place – our own muddy tracks and paths.

Read the full story about the artists and their inspiration here.

Next time, "The Imagery".

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.  

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics

Our Holiday Schedule is now available to be viewed here.

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Preparation of the Walls"

Previously we shared how the background experiences helped prepare Don Macdonald and The Orchid Group^ team for The Shields Street Heart Mosaic project, and last week we saw the tendering process. This week the site works begin.

The City of Cairns is the largest regional commercial centre in Far North Queensland in Australia.  The climate is tropical and is well known internationally as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef hosting over 2 million tourists a year.  The Cairns Regional Council embarked upon a forward thinking upgrade to the heart of the city with a revamp of Shields Street. The mosaic installation was only a small part of the $22 million upgrade.

The Orchid Group’s base, in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, is some 1600km (1000 miles) from Cairns.  Undertaking the Shields Street Mosaic project was in itself a logistical challenge.  As Don explains, “Taking a team on the road is a costly exercise, especially if you’re travelling a great distance to a regional centre where access to your normal suppliers is restricted”.

Don had encouraged Council to specify LATICRETE as the materials supplier because of his long association with the company.  He was confident in their range of products, their superior performance characteristics and their complete system approach which was what he needed to support him in completing such an iconic artwork in a difficult climate and in a high exposure public location. Click here to continue reading. 

Next time, "The Artists".

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

Our Holiday Schedule is now available to be viewed here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics.

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Tender"

Original retaining walls in Cairns CBD

In the previous weeks we have seen how Don’s team from The Orchid Group^ gained the necessary experience from other mosaic art projects, and in particular artworks in the Indigenous genre to prepare them for the Cairns project.  Last time we looked at "More Artworks Follow", this week we look at the tendering process.

The Shields Street Mosaic project consists of eight low retaining walls with 20 round knobs on the end of the walls that snaked around existing landscaping in the main mall of Shields Street in the Cairns CBD.  The imagery was supplied by artists from the nearby Yarrabah Indigenous community and the medium was 10x10mm artistic (hand-cut) glass mosaics totaling 164/m².  The work was to be completed in two stages in line with the other major construction works.

The original retaining walls were core filled masonry block walls clad in a 100x100mm vitrified tile finishing with a square edge at the junction of the vertical and horizontal faces. During the life of the original work the external square edges had been badly damaged and looked unsightly.

At Don’s first meeting with Cairns Regional Council he emphasised for the work to survive and for Council to receive longevity on their investment, the external edges needed to be removed and 100mm radii shaped to both the front and back edges.  From experience he knew that this was the best radius for the laying of small mosaics to achieve a smooth transition from one plane to the other. Don’s rationale was the mosaics would be much stronger if surrounded by other mosaics on a similar plane whereas meeting at a hard external corner they would be exposed and subjected to accidental or malicious damage far more easily. Continue reading here. 

Next time, "The Preparation of the Walls".

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

Our Holiday Schedule is now available to be viewed here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics.

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "More Artworks Follow"

The Garden Scene

Water Feature Urn

The Optic Pool

St Thomas More Icon

The Shields Street Heart Mosaic Project is a three dimensional Australian Indigenous public artwork commissioned by Cairns Regional Council and installed by Don Macdonald and The Orchid Group^ team.   

To secure such a project required not only a high level of mosaic competency but also a depth of experience in completing mosaic artworks and especially three dimensional works.

Last time we saw how a project disaster was the catalyst for Don to meet art dealer Keith Murphy and to produce a series of Indigenous mosaic artworks. This week we see how previous experiences gained by the team were ultimately required to complete the Cairns project.

Two major artworks, the St Thomas More Icon and the Garden Scene artwork provided the team with the fundamental experience in developing techniques to deal with the very tiny hand-cut slivers that are inherent in a hand-cut mosaic artwork.  Additionally, these two artworks provided valuable experience in using LATAPOXY® SP-100 and SPECTRALOCK® both of which would be essential elements of the Cairns project. As well as artistic experience the team gained valuable technical experience from two other complex three dimensional projects, the Optic Pool and Water Feature Urn. Click here to read the full story. 

Next time, "The Tender " - The skills required to bid for the Cairns Project.

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics.

Industry Profile: Don Macdonald - "The Art of Opportunity"

Cairns Regional Council have undergone an upgrade to the city and part of their new look is an Australian Indigenous artwork in the heart of Shields Street recently completed by The Orchid Group^ team.

We previously featured “Where it all began” with the New York Skyline. This week we uncover the great opportunity that came from a disaster.

The Global Financial Crisis took a few years to reach Regional Queensland, but when it did, it hit very hard. Contractors everywhere were closing up shop and moving to larger commercial centres or to the lure of big money in the mines.

It was 2013, it had been a really tough year for The Orchid Group^ team. Don landed a large multi-million dollar luxury home contract that had seven glass mosaic bathrooms. Every room had a different design from 10x10mm hand-cut to 20x20mm designs.  

“The work was stunning and everyone loved the workmanship but the original quoted sum, which was deemed ‘really expensive’ by the builder, was exceeded by nearly $20,000. Making that kind of loss could ordinarily be absorbed, but on the back of a really tough year…it was career changing.” Don was faced with a choice, either do the work of the average Joe or muster the courage to break new ground and forge a pathway to find new markets where their expertise and workmanship were valued and sought after.

Don realized his team was so highly skilled that there was very little market for their level of workmanship especially in Regional Queensland. Since the success of the New York Skyline of 2010 Don often thought how ideal it would be to translate Aboriginal artworks into mosaics, it seemed a natural fit. 

Twelve months before the financial disaster of the mosaic bathrooms project Don had completed a small job for a client and on every wall of their apartment was the most beautiful and priceless Indigenous art.  He wondered to himself if he should approach the client about his idea of translating Indigenous art into mosaics. Read the full story here. 

Next time, "More Artworks Follow" – The team broadens their artistic abilities. 

Contact us on 1800 331 012 for technical support, arrange a demo, free samples, a trade event, or to discuss your next project or contact us here.

^The Orchid Group is also known as Symmetry Mosaics

Wow the Brilliance!

Earth Cycles by the artist Sarrita King & Mosaicist Don Macdonald

Wow, 30 000 hand-cut mosaics which weighs 51kg's

Mosaicist Truly Talented!

Email received from Don Macdonald, on this beautiful mosaic mural.

"The Design House, One Tree Group commissioned Symmetry Mosaics to bring the stunning beauty of Sarrita King’s urban Aboriginal style into the medium of mosaics.  It is 3.0m long, 1.0m high and weighs just 51kg with over 30,000 hand-cut 10x10mm Bisazza glass mosaics.  Up close the detail in the artwork is self evident and at distance the piece appears to be a painting, but in the sunlight, the subtle shade variations become more obvious and it gives the artwork life and a three dimensional perspective.  It is a micro mosaic in a macro application making it a truly fine-art piece.

Setting aside the workmanship and beauty of the design, what is so unique about this artwork is its compelling message.  It tells a timeless story of ‘connectedness’ from the original inhabitants of this ancient land for our modern world. The centre of each of the circles represents each of us and how we are surrounded by family and friends, experiences and events and each of these people and happenings blend into other people’s families and events.  As you step away from one circle and see how all the others circles are interlinked you begin to understand how all things are connected.  And then, you see how the river of life flows through all of our lives and experiences, like the life bringing waters of a meandering river in the outback.

This piece is our first promotional artwork and is the beginning of a creative collaboration between One Tree Group and Symmetry Mosaics. I’ll keep you posted with our other very exciting projects as they are completed.

Don Macdonald

Symmetry Mosaics

Tel: 07 5449 9663 / 0412 050 500"

Don used LATAPOXY® SP-100 as the coloured epoxy adhesive - is a stainless, pigment free, colourfast epoxy grout for grouting floor installations of ceramic tile, brick, and stone. Cleans with water while fresh. Can be used for interior and exterior applications. Ideal for kitchen floors, counter tops, bathroom floors, malls, cafeterias, and laboratories. Click here for more information.

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Contact us to arrange a demo, discuss your project or for technical assistance by calling 1800 331 012 or email us here.