City of Mosaics: Levelland adding to sizable public art collection

Alex Driggars, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
·2 min read
Levelland officials break ground on a new mosaic wall on Thursday. The wall, which will include six tile mosaics depicting South Plains life, will be located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and FM 300 and should be done by the beginning of 2024.
Levelland officials break ground on a new mosaic wall on Thursday. The wall, which will include six tile mosaics depicting South Plains life, will be located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and FM 300 and should be done by the beginning of 2024.

LEVELLAND — The "City of Mosaics" is celebrating a milestone achievement, adding six new mosaics to the city's existing 100 thanks to a state grant to build a roadside installation.

Keep Levelland Beautiful, along with city, chamber of commerce and Texas Department of Transportation officials, broke ground Thursday on a mosaic wall at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and FM 300. The work will include six tile mosaics depicting South Plains life by local artist Pauline Mills.

Keep Levelland Beautiful was awarded $160,000 for a beautification project as one of 10 winners of the Governor's Community Achievement Awards for outstanding community improvement throughout 2019. The city won first place among other Keep Texas Beautiful affiliates with similar populations, ahead of Santa Fe and Graham.

"Because we are officially the City of Mosaics, we wanted to incorporate the mosaics (into the project)," said Mary Siders, president of the Levelland Chamber of Commerce.

This mockup shows what Levelland's new mosaic wall could look like when finished. The wall, which will include six tile mosaics depicting South Plains life, will be located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and FM 300 and should be done by the beginning of 2024.
This mockup shows what Levelland's new mosaic wall could look like when finished. The wall, which will include six tile mosaics depicting South Plains life, will be located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 385 and FM 300 and should be done by the beginning of 2024.

High school football preview: Levelland Lobos look to build on playoff appearance

Levelland's City of Mosaics title was officially codified in 2019 during the 86th Texas Legislature, but residents have for decades called the town by that moniker, a nod to the numerous pieces of tile artwork found across the city. The first mosaic in Levelland was erected in 1968 by Don Stroud, an art professor at South Plains College. By 2019, the town was home to 13 mosaics; in the year following, 87 more were added.

"Because once we became the City of Mosaics, we determined that if we were going to do it, we wanted to do it right," Siders said.

Levelland has numerous outdoor mosaics throughout the city and has become known as a "City of Mosaics."
Levelland has numerous outdoor mosaics throughout the city and has become known as a "City of Mosaics."

TxDOT contractor Encino Landscaping will construct the wall and help place Mills' mosaic panels, which will be crafted through an involved process and "a lot of long hours."

"We need to order the tile and the mesh that it's going to go on, and then a whole team of volunteers and people that work for me will come in and start the mosaic," Mills said. "It will be built offsite and then it will be brought in and adhered to the concrete structure. Then we'll come back in and grout it, and it'll be beautiful and everybody will take pictures of it."

Mills said her designs include a sunrise and sunset, cotton bolls, pumpjacks and a Texas map, along with other Levelland symbols. And she's excited to get to work on the project, which she hopes will be done by the end of the year.

"I am very excited about it. I love the design, and I love the fact that it's in such a great location, so I can't wait to get started," Mills said.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Levelland, the city of mosaics, to erect more public art