Caper Acres Sea Serpent
Chico, California
Caper Acres, a kids' park in Chico California, opened a new section for kids to play on called the Nico Project in July 2007. The project includes a large mosaic sea serpent that bobs in and out of rubbery mat "water" forming a circle of play structures around an "island" with a shipwreck play structure. Robin created dozens and dozens of hand-made tiles to adorn the serpent and his five humps and tail that reach out of the water-like-flooring. It was important to Robin that all of the mosaic portions be of whole tile and included no cut pieces or shards to maximize child-friendliness.
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The amazing glass eyes were donated by local glass artisan, Rick Satava, of Satava Art Glass. The serpent itself was manufactured by Universal Precast in Redding, and, I'm told the mold for it did not survive, which makes this a truly one of a kind creature. The paint on the serpent was by local artist Gregg Payne. It took months to stockpile the handmade tiles that would later adorn the giant sea serpent. The serpent was brought from Redding to Chico on a huge flatbed truck and lowered into place by crane. Laying the tile and glass marble gems took about a week and a half, and then it was grouted, sealed and finished! This section of the park opened officially on July 19th, 2007 in a private ceremony for the friends and family of Nico whom the project memorializes. for more on the Nico Project, visit: http://www.rememberingnico.com
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Some of the tiles shown here are for sale at >rebeltiles.com<
The kids really love the new addition...
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Seen here at left is the tail of the beast rising up out of the "water" and the serpent's humps can be seen in the background.
At right, a young girl narrowly escapes being eaten for lunch, as a young boy grabs its fin to steady his climb.
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Shown here is a section of the rubberized matting that was poured/installed around the serpent and other structures.
Here are some pictures of the install, mosaic process and project in progress:
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Here's one of the pictures Robin took to send to the architect as a progress report of sorts. At right, the serpent is being
lifted off the truck by huge chains and (below) lowered into place.
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Here, one of the humps and the tail are lowered into place, and Dan, from Universal Precast, tests the crawl-through-ability of the serpent's mouth cavity giving it the A-okay.