"Wilmington Ebb and Flow" is a ceramic mosaic installation located on arches in the Wilmington Town Square. The project was commissioned by Los Angeles City Council District 15, with additional support from the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative and Green Communications Initiative. The project was part of a larger revitalization of the park which also included painted murals by Gelson Lemus, Breanna Quintero and Benjamin Avila. Krantz began the project in the spring of 2022, with weekly art classes offered at the Wilmington Recreation Center. During the classes, youth learned art fundamentals with a focus on ceramic hand building and tile making techniques. The seventeen week class culminated in the public art installation of the mosaic, which the youth, led by Krantz, helped install and grout. Embedded in the mosaic are tiles printed with QR codes that link to videos of the students who participated in the project. "Wilmington Ebb and Flow" was completed with assistance from Kory Salajka and Keila Medina Villanueva. Masonry assistance from Andy Jimenez.
Chaparral Quilt is a ceramic tile mural comprised of two 6.5’ x 7.25’ rectangles. It is located in an indoor courtyard at the Bell Creek Apartments in Canoga Park, CA. The imagery is inspired by plants and animals native to the San Fernando Valley. Residents of the apartments contributed tiles to the mural via a series of workshops. The mural is one of three commissioned by the affordable housing developer Meta Housing for the new complex.
Headwaters is a 6.5' x 8.5' ceramic tile mural. The mural is located on the front facade of the Bell Creek Apartments in Canoga Park, CA. The new apartment building is located one block north of the beginning of the Los Angeles River, and the mural depicts the two smaller creeks, Arroyo Calabasas and Bell Creek, that contribute to its flow. The mural is one of three commissioned by the affordable housing developer, Meta Housing, for the new complex. The project was completed with assistance from Francis Araujo and Chaney Szeto. Masonry assistance from Andy Jimenez.
Tree of Life is a 6.5’ x 8.5’ ceramic tile mural located on an exterior wall of the Bell Creek Apartments in Canoga Park, CA. Local youth from the Fernandeño Tataviam Youth Summer Camp, Camp Tamit, contributed the colorful flower tiles during a workshop facilitated by the artist. Children from the adjacent Guadalupe Community Center created the background tiles using objects they collected on a neighborhood scavenger hunt. The mural is one of three commissioned by the affordable housing developer, Meta Housing, for the new complex. Project assistance from Francis Araujo and Chaney Szeto. Masonry assistance from Andy Jimenez.
Small World, is located at El Marino Language School in Culver City, CA. It is entirely comprised of ceramic tiles handmade by the school community and the artist. The design takes inspiration from Mary Blair's colorful and playful "Small World" ride at Disneyland. Krantz held relief carving workshops with students, teachers and staff, asking community members to create a simple image in clay that represented an aspect of themselves.
Circle Song is a 5’ x 50’ ceramic tile wall, commissioned by the City of Santa Clarita for the Canyon Country Community Center. Circle Song is comprised of approximately 3000 handmade ceramic tiles. Of these, approximately 600 were made by community members in a series of workshops facilitated by the artist.
Favorite Things is a ceramic tile mural that was installed on one of the interior play yard walls at University Parents Nursery School, University Village, Los Angeles in the fall of 2020. UPNS is located at the UCLA family housing complex which houses students and their families from all over the world. UPNS serves children aged two to five years old. The shapes in Favorite Things were inspired by drawings created by the children at the school. Tiles were created by all students, teachers and staff at a series of tile making workshops.
The Garden, a 17 foot long ceramic tile mural, was completed in 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the University Parents Nursery School in Los Angeles. The project was a collaboration between myself and the students, parents, faculty and staff at the school. The mural depicts a garden scene that moves from night to day, and it’s imagery points to the cycles of nature. Each class at the school contributed to a different aspect of the project. The youngest children rolled out the worms for the "underground" section of the mural, while other children created flowers, leaves and insects. Installation was completed by tile mason Andy Jimenez
The Bullseyes (2015) are a series of eight wooden signs commissioned by the Mar Vista Art Walk. The signs identified free shuttle bus stops along the art walk route. The free shuttle bus was adopted by the Mar Vista Art Walk as a way to include differently-abled folks in the event.
Kumba Was Here (2010) is a site specific installation in Seattle's former Immigration and Naturalization Services building. In 2004, after 72 years of continuous use, the INS building was closed and sold to a developer. After getting input from Seattle’s immigrant community, the buyer turned it into artist studios. I moved in in 2010 and was one of the first artists in the building. Walking the halls, it was impossible to ignore the building’s grim past. The courtyard served as a waiting area for detainees and the graffiti that remains on the walls often denotes names and places of origin.
After working in the space for a few months, it became clear that I would need to make a piece that dealt directly with the history of the building. While the building had witnessed some joyful moments (it was the place where new citizens were sworn in) it also served as a detention center and it was clear that much suffering had taken place here. “Kumba Was Here,” is a meditation on the people that waited in that courtyard. By following and enlarging their handwriting, I tried to amplify and pay tribute to their voices.
After working in the space for a few months, it became clear that I would need to make a piece that dealt directly with the history of the building. While the building had witnessed some joyful moments (it was the place where new citizens were sworn in) it also served as a detention center and it was clear that much suffering had taken place here. “Kumba Was Here,” is a meditation on the people that waited in that courtyard. By following and enlarging their handwriting, I tried to amplify and pay tribute to their voices.
