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Courtesy photo<br />
Artist Patty Sjolin at work on the mural<br />
that adorns Bullion Plaza Cultural Center<br />
& Museum’s McKusick Tile Exhibit.<br />
Bullion Plaza Museum exhibit continued from page 32<br />
David Sowders/Copper Corridor<br />
Standing beneath Sjolin’s finished work are Charles Beck and Victoria<br />
Carella, who together largely funded the mural; Bullion Plaza Cultural Center<br />
& Museum Executive Director Tom Foster; Robert and Charmion McKusick’s<br />
grandson, Thierry Condit; and their daughter, Kathleen Condit.<br />
er desert animals for 48<br />
years. Their work has been<br />
described as a unique product<br />
of Globe, which the<br />
couple formed and decorated<br />
by hand using an inlay<br />
process developed from the<br />
12 th Century Moorish glaze<br />
technique. Robert mined<br />
and prepared the clay, made<br />
the molds and fired the tiles<br />
in kilns; Charmion created<br />
the tile designs, cut them<br />
into the plaster molds and<br />
decorated the fired tiles.<br />
Their daughter Kathleen<br />
Condit, who grew up in the<br />
business, later took over<br />
sales and customer relations<br />
as well as designing some<br />
of the tiles. Before production<br />
ended in 1996, the<br />
McKusick Tile Studio created<br />
over 300 tile designs.<br />
Robert McKusick, who<br />
taught ceramics at Gila<br />
Community College for<br />
many years, helped design<br />
the tile exhibit at Bullion<br />
Plaza Cultural Center &<br />
Museum. The museum’s<br />
McKusick Tile Exhibit provides<br />
a multi-faceted display<br />
of the couple’s wildlife<br />
art, other ceramic works<br />
by the McKusicks and the<br />
equipment they used.<br />
In 2021, the exhibit was<br />
further enhanced by the<br />
work of another local artist.<br />
Gila County’s diverse<br />
and beautiful ecosystem<br />
is the theme Miami painter<br />
Patty Sjolin created for<br />
the McKusick Tile Exhibit<br />
– a work of art that complements<br />
the collection of<br />
birds, mammals and reptiles<br />
depicted in tile by Robert<br />
and Charmion McKusick.<br />
Stretching over three walls<br />
of the exhibit room, Sjolin’s<br />
work portrays local animals<br />
and plants – including endangered<br />
species - in their<br />
natural settings both above<br />
and below ground, including<br />
a riparian area. It also<br />
depicts area landmarks like<br />
the Pinal Mountains and<br />
Salt River. The project was<br />
inspired and largely funded<br />
by Victoria Carella and her<br />
partner Charles Beck, of<br />
Globe. The couple brought<br />
Sjolin the idea for this work<br />
and provided the majority<br />
of the mural project funding;<br />
the rest was supplied<br />
by Bullion Plaza through<br />
Gila County grants. Wildlife<br />
biologist Eric Herman<br />
served as a consultant on<br />
the mural. Bullion Plaza is<br />
also working to develop a<br />
coloring book and postcards<br />
based on Sjolin’s work.<br />
The McKusicks’ art,<br />
along with the accompanying<br />
mural and a wealth of<br />
other historical items from<br />
Gila County, is on view<br />
at Bullion Plaza Cultural<br />
Center & Museum. Visiting<br />
hours at the museum, located<br />
at 150 N. Plaza Circle<br />
in Miami, are Wednesday<br />
through Friday from 11 a.m.<br />
to 2 p.m.<br />
For more information,<br />
call (928) 473-3700.<br />
<strong>Gateway</strong> to the Copper Corridor <strong>2022</strong><br />
33