Sparkling mosaic shines its light on Waterville library

Waterville Library Branch manager Karen Wiggins, left, and designer Alison Quinn, both of Waterville, unveil the mosiac. "It felt like Times Square on New Year's Eve'", says Dan Rigal, of Waterville, about the unveiling.

With a tug of a tarp, Waterville area residents met the mosaic.

Atop ladders, Karen Wiggins, Waterville Branch Library manager, and mural illustrator Alison Quinn let loose the corners of the covering during the unveiling of a colorful community art project, now on permanent display in the library.

“Every time I look at it, I see something else, some other detail,” said Joan Rigal of Waterville during a Meet the Mosaic event at the library on Saturday. “It sparkles. The mural just sparkles.”

Glittery gold pieces spill from a treasure chest. A flashlight-toting girl explores the countryside with her faithful fido at her side. A train chugs through a belching volcano as a green UFO hovers overhead. Windows glisten in city skyscrapers. Musical notes from a vintage car spill down a waterfall near a cliff climber. Pink flowers, entwined in ivy, cascade along a castle wall. All images pop from the pages of an open book.

Anticipation for the reveal was akin to waiting for the ball to fall at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, said Mrs. Rigal’s husband, Dan. He added that generations of library patrons will get a chance to view the mosaic made by community members.

Waterville-area residents last fall placed thousands of glass pieces in seven panels of the 13 foot-by-6-foot mural at Make the Mosaic sessions led by mosaic artist Gail Christofferson, who lives near Bowling Green. She was the project’s lead artist.

Ms. Quinn’s illustration, chosen from a large field of entries following a call for artists, represents how reading opens up the world to people.

The 23-year-old graduate of Ohio University is a Waterville resident.

The project was sponsored by the Waterville Area Arts Council and funded by the Library Legacy Foundation of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.