Covid-19 Commemorative Tile Project for the City of Calistoga

In the spring of 2021, a Calistoga Junior/Senior High School eighth-grader, Loma Henry, wrote an essay about her feelings during that first year of isolation and at-home schooling and entered it in the City of Calistoga’s Government Essay Contest along with 20 other students. Loma’s essay, titled “Acceptance and Hope,” was awarded the first prize. When we read her essay in the Calistoga Tribune, the Board members of the Calistoga Art Center had an immediate and positive response: we wanted to realize Loma’s vision. Ms. Henry’s idea is simple, provocative, and powerful: she proposed that an art installation be made up of decorated tiles that could help people express themselves about their grief and losses from the pandemic. She also referenced the Calistoga Art Center as being one of the agents to bring her vision into reality. (The Essay is below.)

To that end, the CAC presented a proposal to the City of Calistoga and to a City Council meeting with an outline of how this vision would be accomplished and which received favorable and positive support. Since then the CAC has been hosting free tile painting sessions and developing installation designs. We are thrilled to announce the design and a permanent installation spot has been approved.

The initial proposal that was presented to City Council in March of 2022 can be found below.

Ms. Loma Henry’s Essay titled “Acceptance and Hope”

French author Alphonse de Lamartine once said "Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys." While of course I believe that we can find unity in common joys, everyone has lived through over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, a project for the whole community to participate in would bring us all together. The Calistoga government could promote unity in our beautiful, diverse community by endorsing a COVID-19 memorial art installation. The art could help everyone express our grief from the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be a moving and unifying experience that is accessible to all members of the community.

My idea is to create an art installation made up of tiles, which anyone could decorate. Everyone who participates would get one tile to decorate in a way that symbolizes a loss they suffered due to the pandemic. This could be a loved one, or it could be a trip, a graduation, wedding, quinceañera, or other significant event or ceremony. Alternatively, the tile could be decorated to represent something that helped them get through the pandemic. According to the Calistoga City Council Mission statement, “We are dedicated to serving the needs and desires of our citizens by...maintaining the small-town, rural character of Calistoga.” I think this art installation would do just that.

This project would be a way for people to release the burdens of some of the losses endured during the pandemic, and help us move forward collectively as a community. It could also help us see how others have coped with the pandemic. According to healthline.com, the sixth of the seven stages of grief is “reconstruction and working through.” I believe we are ready to face this stage. The art installation could be a special way for our community to work through the grief this pandemic has caused, and begin to reconstruct.

Throughout this pandemic, the Calistoga Art Center has done a wonderful job creating art kits for the Calistoga youth. Perhaps the city council could partner with the Calistoga Art Center, or with another organization such as the Calistoga Boys and Girls Club to hand out free bags of decorating supplies to anyone, and everyone who wants to join. The heart of the project would be self-expression, with accessibility for all. Supply bags could include a tile, paint, and a brush. On a set date, everyone would drop off their finished tile, and then volunteers from the community could organize all of the tiles together to form a beautiful mural that represents our community. The community could also come together to decide on the right place to install the mural.

Our town has a beautiful, unique, and diverse community, and everyone here has their own unique story to tell. This art installation could let people tell a piece of their story, and bring us back together through collective healing. Upon completion of this project, we will be ready to enter the final stage of grief: Acceptance and Hope. We may never be able to “return to normal,” but we must find a way forward.

Click the button below to view the initial proposal presented to the City of Calistoga in Feb/2022:

Tile Project update (March 2024): Thank you to all who participated in painting a tile. The installation phase is in process. The design and location has been approved by City Council. Stay tuned for more to come…