Tree Top Terry in Maui a former Encinitas local Artist

Promised and delivered from Maui, Treetop "Terry Weaver" is sharing his story of Encintas, CA and his artwork in the City.  Tales from the Tree House - 
Cont. from January; Mosaic Mon, Terry Michael Weaver.Encinitas – Subject Streetscape 2001 Award “The Story”.

Back in March, 2001, while visiting family and friends in Encinitas, I ran into a good friend and then Arts Commissioner, Thomas Soto. Tommy mentioned to me that the City of Encinitas was looking for local artists for the Downtown Encinitas Streetscape project. The Arts Commission wanted to incorporate public art into the street improvement project to make it more interesting. Tommy said, “they should have your mosaics downtown.” He directed me to city hall where I obtained specifications for the art –(16) 36” round medallion to be placed at specific locations. I took this very seriously as both my youth and my heart are rooted in Encinitas. The Downtown Encinitas Streetscape project offered me an opportunity to give something creative back to my hometown. I had only three days to prepare my presentation to the City Council. I had learned the importance of a good presentation while working in architectural firms, so I spent the entire three days preparing. I made 2 images: a horse jumping a gate and a classic Woodie. I printed them to actual size as requested on the spec sheet. I also included a real mosaic which was hung in our family’s dome house- a 2” round lion tile mosaic that I had made back in the early 80’s. I waited patiently as I was the last name in the competition to be called. I proposed that each of the 16 medallions would depict different aspects of the city. I then rolled out the 2 full size images and displayed my round mosaic lion. 

The Council was able to have a true visual of the actual sized art for the medallions. The votes followed and I was awarded the medallion project. I was excited and a little nervous. Reality was, that not only was I a commissioned artist, I was part of a major street renovation project that impacted the businesses on Highway 101. I realized how daunting 16 different image mosaics would be to design, manufacture and to also keep pace with the City’s construction schedule.

Meanwhile back  at home: The Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational (MPAPI) is a weeklong art event held every February in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii. The MPAPI event is a great event where the public can watch professional plein air painters create their artistic visions of Maui, its people, the landscape, and historical buildings. Terry’s tree house is always a popular subject and this year no fewer than 5 of the 25 showcased artists chose this unique setting as their subject.



Next month: the Art Council and process of creating 16 pieces of art begins