Storyteller Series - #3 Podium (left view)

. continuing onwards with our visual tour of the large scale hand-built ceramic sculpture garden at the Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Diego.?The top of the podium is shaped like an open book with tiles printed with the information about the author, what the theme of the park means, who commissioned the artwork etc. The left side of the open book has tiles 1, 2, and 3 which are imprinted with:

(Tile 1)

People relate to each other through stories and it is both the commonality and the uniqueness of each person?s story that bind and fascinate us. A sculpture that draws on the many stories of the residents of the City Heights community is fitting for Rosa Parks Elementary School.

(Tile 2)

The visual inspiration for this sculpture comes from the tradition of ceramic storyteller dolls made by the Native Americans of the Pueblo Cultures in the Southwestern U.S.A.  These dolls, with their eyes closed and mouths open, tell their stories as small figures of children sit on their laps and climb on them while listening.  The Rosa Parks Storyteller sculpture has the same gesture and offers places where real children can sit and listen or read their stories.

Each of the benches has a different story about the school, the children, the neighborhood, the community and about Rosa Parks herself.

(Tile 3)
ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sayoko Kay Mura was born in Jerome, Arkansas, raised in Denver, Colorado and received a B.A. from Pomona College in Claremont, California.  She has an M.A. in Art from Claremont Graduate University and an M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Hawaii where she attended as an East-West Center Grantee.  Kay lives in Hawaii and is a  Professor of Art teaching ceramics and sculpture at Leeward Community College.  Her work is in private and public collections and she has completed several outdoor installations at elementary schools in Hawaii.

Sayoko Kay Mura's website: