Pat’s Bench

A two-seater blue mosaic bench, done in geometric design beckons attention in the Kottinger Community Park.  Seen from Kottinger Drive, Pat’s Bench was designed to look like a comfortable, cozy love seat.  It is Sandy Milne’s loving memorial to her husband Pat’s big bear hugs and recognition of his many happy hours walking the Kottinger Park. It was installed in 2000.

Artist Laurel True learned Pat loved Mexico and incorporated Mexican design into the artwork. The background colors of the bench are the colors of his favorite chair. The butterflies on the back signify the birth/death/transformation cycle. The five butterflies are an expression of Pat’s numerology. The wings behind the sun on the couch front represent spirituality and life.

Mosaic artist Laurel True is an artist, educator, and community builder now based in New Orleans although her west coast roots were in Oakland, California. Working with ceramic tile, glass, mirror, and recycled building materials, she designs and creates murals and sculptural forms for public, commercial and residential settings, and as street art around the globe. She is known for her vibrant public and commissioned projects, created through her company True Mosaics Studio. True received a degree from the University of Wisconsin in African Studies and has studied Studio Art in Ravenna, Italy, Dakar, Senegal, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She was the Founding Director of the Global Mosaic Project which has created and facilitated hundreds of projects over the last decades, training thousands of project participants, students, apprentices, and volunteers in the US, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Haiti.

Laurel True believes strongly in environmental beautification and “creating accessible public art that people can naturally connect with, adding something to their experience, a moment in life.”  Pat’s Bench invites well-being, and a big hug amidst a stroll in Kottinger Park.

Jan Coleman-Knight