Melrose-Mercy/Pine Acres Neighborhood Monument Marker

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	The beauty and durability of hand-painted ceramic tile makes it the perfect medium for projects like this Melrose-Mercy/Pine Acres neighborhood monument marker. In the ribbon cutting ceremony from left to right in the photo below- 1.Russ Buker, general contractor- 2.myself- 3.Rick Baker, Mayor of St. Petersburg- 4.Chrisshun Cox, the president of the neighborhood association. Russ and I look a mess because 30 minutes before this photograph was taken we were elbow deep in mortar and grout as we completed the finishing touches on the installation.

	Four monuments were created. Each monument was placed a specific location to define the boundaries of the neighborhood. The following photos offer a closer view of the three images on the monument. The top image is a white dove carrying a scroll. This is to symbolize the peaceful merger of two separate neighborhoods into one. Melrose-Mercy and Pine Acres were at one time considered separate neighborhoods.

	On the left side of the monuments there is a painting of a historical building in the neighborhood that once housed a community hospital.

	On the right side of the monuments there is a painting of pine trees to represent the old Pine Acres neighborhood.
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	Notice how the tile is deeper in color at the bottom and becomes lighter as it reaches the top. I did this on the two sides to better showcase the painted images. Every piece of tile for all the monuments was hand-painted, glazed then fired in my kiln. The whole crew at the ribbon cutting ceremony consisted of several City officials along with the Mayor, representatives of the Neighborhood Association, Russ Buker, myself and other interested parties.