June 10, 2007
The art's ocean theme connects park to sea
Fletcher Cove Park has everything one would expect to find at a seaside park: palm trees, an ocean view, a playground, a basketball court and a long expanse of green lawn.
But it's the artistry and poems of Betsy Schulz that give it a distinctive Solana Beach identity. Visitors can see her mosaic tile designs on the benches and retaining walls that flank the path to the ocean during Saturday's grand opening ceremony.
The tiles and fish and animal figures are hand-sculpted in clay, fired in a kiln, glazed and then fired again. Their presence celebrates the beach setting while teaching visitors about local marine life.
Schulz designed a group of wiggly grunions that swim along blue currents on the face of one sitting area. A poem carved into the tile tells us about their journey “From April to June on a full moon night, come down to the beach, it's a wonderful sight. On the highest tide, between dusk and dawn, the fish ride ashore on the waves to spawn.”
A baby opal eye fish, a barred surf perch, leopard sharks and a squid with trails of tentacles decorate the opposing concrete chair, embellished with white shells, and pink and turquoise stones.
Common and Latin names scrawled near each figure identify the array of sea life found off the San Diego coast. Schulz earned a reputation that led to the commission for the Fletcher Cove project, originally estimated to cost $44,000 for engineering, construction and artwork.
Two years ago, the artist exceeded all expectations when she beat out five other competitors to create the historical, tiled arches at the entrance of the Solana Beach Coastal Rail Trail. That work helped her land the commission to decorate a curving wall next to the shower at Fletcher Cove.
“We wanted to maintain the consistency of artistic design in the park, and the city had a fantastic response from the community about the quality of Betsy's work,” said Steve Didier, the city's public information officer. “We sole-sourced Betsy for this project because we wanted to continue that same design.”
When Schulz created the tiled arches, she came up with a cost-effective idea that engaged the Solana Beach community. First, she invited volunteers to help with the project. She also designed leaf-shaped tiles embedded with inscriptions by residents who wished to express a sentiment for Solana Beach. The donor tiles sold for $300 apiece and helped to offset the cost of her bid.
For the Fletcher Cove sitting walls, city officials anticipated similar success and authorized the sale of 55 donor tiles at $300 per tile.
“Those donations are processed through the Solana Beach Historical Society,” Didier said.
The project's cost dropped about $16,000. When the park planner and contractor made changes to the walkway and added another seat wall, Betsy sold additional donor tiles. She has a waiting list of people who want to participate in the next project.”
Schulz, 38, lives near Del Mar in San Diego. She was born in Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor's degree in fine art from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Her children, ages 7 and 9, went to preschool at the Hanna Fenichel Center, just down the street from Fletcher Cove. Schulz said many of her friends live in Solana Beach. “It's so enjoyable to have all these people out here,” Schulz said last month, surrounded by volunteers who were busy grouting the tiles.
“It gives them a sense of ownership. I love to give people the opportunity to learn and understand how it's done.”
