This past weekend, craftspeople began installing the long-anticipated mosaic tile mural at the Jacksons Gas station and Food Store. This artistic creation of Hector H. Hernandez will adorn a cinderblock wall placed behind the new pedestrian plaza at NE 82nd Avenue and Glisan Street. The corner community space and mural are part of a significant redevelopment project that rebuilt a Shell refueling station and created a substantially larger convenience store.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association members selected Hernandez for this project in the latter part of 2020. The artist met with neighborhood residents and Board members to gather inspiration for the project. Those conversations and his years of experience creating public art guided the creation of the mural’s design presented at the October 10th, 2022, meeting. His slide deck included work in a variety of mediums representing an array of subjects. The presentation also offered a look at the OPB segment featuring Hernandez’s work on the side of the Woodburn Independent newspaper building.
Hernandez worked for months cutting the individual tile pieces for this mural in his studio, adhering them to mesh backing for transportation to the site. Now, he and his support team are placing the mosaic panels together on the cinderblock wall and filling in the gaps with individual tiles before grouting. The tiles are small, and the work draws on ancient skills not regularly practiced by modern craftspeople.
Jacksons Food Stores funded this work as part of its commitment to community support in the areas in which it operates. Along with the plaza, work at this location included many improvements to the sidewalk infrastructure and expansion of the urban tree canopy. Completing this public art installation will mark the final phase of construction at this site, but the mural will become a lasting display of Montavilla’s history and diversity.
Disclosure: The Author of this article served on the Montavilla Neighborhood Association Board during the mural’s selection process.
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