In the Studio: Ashland artist’s courtyard creation displays tiled flair, sloping serenity

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, September 28, 2023

Taking a moment to observe her whimsical, artistic creation woven with tiled palm trees, ceramic flowers and translations of “peace and love” along the sloping walls of The Palm Motel and Cottages in Ashland, artist Krysta Bannis beamed with pride.

“When you create something out of your mind, you’ve got the closest you can get to heaven,” Bannis said. “It’s being able to put something out in the world that doesn’t exist and only exists because of you.”

Starting in July 2022, the tile and mural artist began efforts to convert the Ashland inn’s concrete courtyard into an art piece inspired by Barcelona’s Park Güell, including visual themes resembling the pinks and pastels of 1950s hotels.

Bannis wrapped up in mid-September, bringing her multifaceted vision to life. The Palm is located at 1065 Siskiyou Blvd. in Ashland.

“There are very many places where it pops out and recesses, and that’s on purpose,” she said. “Most mosaics are just flat, but my work is very three-dimensional.”

The Peace and Love Courtyard, unofficially named by Bannis, includes hundreds of multicolored beads along the peaks of the courtyard’s slanted walls, with a large, heart-shaped centerpiece lined with jade that surrounds two doves shaped to resemble a human heart.

“I built the heart from marble, and then it’s surrounded by Guatemalan jade, and then the small leaves I made in my kiln with tumbled glass,” Bannis said.

Throughout the heart centerpiece’s wall is the phrase “peace and love,” written in 32 languages from Spanish to Korean to Somali.

To add to the courtyard’s three-dimensional look, she placed Bauhaus-inspired tiling in hexagonal shapes throughout.

The Bauhaus is a German artistic movement from the early 20th century that incorporated fine art with functional design through geometric shapes and patterns.

While Bannis completed the courtyard art project alone, the artist received unexpected help from a bead-collecting guest at The Palm.

“The lady runs a tiger reserve out of Central Point, and she happened to be staying in a cabin here and she was admiring my work, and I had barely gotten started,” she said of the chance encounter. “She really wanted to be a part of my art, and it just hit me, I just texted her and asked, ‘would it be OK, I think this wall would look beautiful with beads all along the top edge.’”

The woman agreed, allowing Bannis to utilize her four warehouses of beads and small rocks for the courtyard walls and decorate the tops of the sloping walls with every color.

Also adorning the walls is a collection of ceramic flowers, animals and other ornaments from the Ashland community’s younger creatives.

“Trails [Outdoor School] students helped me make all the butterflies and the small flowers,” said Bannis, who previously worked as a school teacher.

All in all, the artist hopes the Peace and Love Courtyard will bring a serene spot for hotel guests to observe, enjoy and reflect.

“I hope that it is something that brings them delight, as it’s seemed to be doing for the guests so far,” she said. “I think it is a good place to be introspective.”

Bannis’ next creative endeavor will involve switching from tile to text as she aims to write children’s books.

“I’m going to start writing children’s books that have the meaningfulness behind the art and tell the story, and that’s going to be called ‘Krysta and the city of Ashland,’” she said. “I think that’s the direction I’m going to go instead of teaching in the classroom. I’ll be teaching through my writing.”

The artist plans to write books about her public art projects, including her mural titled “Uplifting,” which resides on a side wall of Ashland’s Abbey Carpet & Floor on Siskiyou Boulevard.

Bannis aims to write her first children’s book by the end of the year.

To learn more about Bannis and her art, see bannis.org.