(MIAMI, FL   October 6, 2011)– City of Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff and U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are proud to announce the unveiling ceremony for the Coconut Grove Children’s Mosaic Mural will be held Friday, October 7 at 3:00 p.m. at the U.S. Post Office at 3191 Grand Avenue, in Coconut Grove.

The Mosaic Mural community project took more than two years to complete and involved more than 80 area children, whose drawings and paintings inspired the marine-themed mosaic mural, and the dedicated team of local artists, Cyndy Hill and Eileen Seitz, who, who along with more than 100 local volunteers, spent hundreds of hours constructing the mural panels.

Beset by many setbacks, the mural project almost didn’t happen. Commissioner Sarnoff and his District 2 staff worked diligently to find the necessary resources for the artists, from donated tile, stone and mortar to engineering expertise to the enormous work and storage spaces needed to complete the project. When the federal bureaucracy threatened to derail the project, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen stepped in and the group was able to obtain permission from the U.S. Postal Service to erect the mural on the outside wall of the U.S. Post Office Coconut Grove Branch.

“The Children’s Mosaic Mural is truly about community, with people from throughout Coconut Grove contributing to the effort and pulling together as ‘One Grove’,” said Commissioner Sarnoff, whose district encompasses Coconut Grove. “From conception to completion, this mural represents all the good that the City of Miami has to offer.”

The idea to place a mural at the Coconut Grove Post Office came about initially as a way to combat graffiti. The project quickly took hold of the hearts and minds of a diverse group of people – artists and non-artists, the young and not-so-young – who pulled together in an effort to create a visible heart of the community.

“Every volunteer worked hard to contribute their own unique piece that when brought together highlights the mural’s marine theme,” Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen said. “Individually, each tile represents the broad diversity of our South Florida community, but combined they create this wonderful mural that showcases our unity and strength.”

The earliest fruit of this collaborative effort appears in the watercolor painting “Layers of Love,” by Eileen Seitz, who drew from Cyndy Hill’s design concept and which serves as the basis for the mural. The mural design takes its major elements directly from original children’s paintings and drawings gathered from Coconut Grove Cares/ Barnyard Community Center, Shake-A-Leg Miami, Blu Moon Studio of Art, and other contributors.

In addition to those organizations, youths from Coconut Grove Elementary School, Coral Gables High School, Ponce de Leon Middle School and the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, as well as additional local artists and community members, helped to the assemble the 56 panels that comprise the mural.

“It shows what a dedicated group of people can do,” artist Hill said. “It took local people, local government and local businesses to accomplish this mural project.”

Each of the 56 panels weighs approximately 100 pounds and incorporates tiles donated by Juan Carlos Ruiz, of the non-profit group The Artile Project, that were mounted onto stone panels provided by Amir Awal, of the company Excellence In Stone. Sylvia Jordan, director of the Coconut Grove Cares / The Barnyard Community Center, provided workspace and the non-profit framework for the group to accept donations. Barbara Bisno and the Venetian Causeway Neighborhood Alliance provided $2,200 to pay for additional materials. The majority of the prefabrication of the panels was done at the City of Miami’s Neighborhood Enhancement Team office in Coconut Grove. Shake-A-Leg Miami provided its hanger for storage and workspace to complete the panels.

Commissioner Sarnoff invites neighbors, public officials and the general public to the unveiling ceremony next Friday, Oct. 7 at 3:00 p.m., at 3191 Grand Avenue, in Coconut Grove.  For more information about the mural and the artists please visit the Coconut Grove Children’s Mosaic Mural Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/onegrovemural.

For more about the event or for press inquiries please contact William Plasencia at the office of City of Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff - District 2: wplasencia@miamigov.com or (305) 250-5331.