Suzanne Moe works on the MOREart! mosaic attached to the wall of the Roxbury Mills building on Jackson Street. SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Getting us together through MOREart mural

Date published: 7/27/2007

THE CREATION of the Multicultural Out-Reach Effort in 2004 came as a result of a simple vision: to create avenues that will bring diverse people together.

My hope was to bridge the divide that prevents people from speaking to one another. I wanted people to discover that although our outside appearances vary, we learn, dream, love, cry, hear, grow, smell, laugh, see, eat, and feel pain the same way. We are one as human beings.

That vision has not changed. MORE is about bringing people together, recognizing our differences, and celebrating them. We advanced our mission ten-fold with the MOREart! community mosaic mural project.

The magnificent mural that you can now view at Roxbury Farm & Garden Center took nearly two years to reach completion. MORE board member and artist Suzanne Moe presented her concept over a year and a half ago.

The project went through a full "board" process before moving to the next stage--contacting Roxbury to determine if they even wanted a mosaic mural on their property. I think it's safe to say that our community was blessed when Roxbury's powers-that-be said yes!

Moe asked fellow mosaic artist Andrea Shreve Taylor to coordinate the project with her. We were again blessed when Taylor agreed.

The next step was finding students willing to volunteer their time once a week for five months. This commitment would culminate in a full week of sweaty, hot work just as the school year was ending--a time when they would likely prefer to be hanging out beside a swimming pool and taking it easy.

Nine wonderful kids, ranging in age from 11 to 18, heeded the call and made the lengthy pledge. Under Moe's and Taylor's tutelage, the Youth Art Team grew into a true team of leaders. This diverse group of kids learned skills that world-traveled artisans can only dream about, and by the end of the project, they would have enabled nearly 300 volunteers to assemble a mosaic mural. Incredible!

The mural was installed in mid-June. That first morning was hotter than blazes and there were only a handful of volunteers on site, ready to tackle this enormous, empty cinder-block wall. We began the daunting task at 9:00 a.m.; by 10:00 a.m. a steady stream of supporters were strolling in, sleeves rolled up, asking, "How can I help?"

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Date published: 7/27/2007