Tile Murals Fundraisers: 2008

I had the good fortune of meeting Monica through another vendor I had been working with at Saddleback Women’s Hospital when I began doing tile painting murals there as a way to raise funds for the Women’s Hospital. The program allowed parents of children or the children born at Saddleback, to paint a tile to honor their birthplace or the doctors and nurses that delivered them. As the support group for the hospital, we would set up a tile painting day, take orders and have the supplies, tiles and instructions brought over by our vendor – who also fired the tiles. They looked very nice, but I had no idea just how truly nice they could look until I started working with Monica’s company.

When I decided to start the same program at my children’s school to help raise money for the PTA and to beautify the campus, the lady I had been working with at the hospital had quit her business and referred me to Monica. Monica had been doing the same kind of murals for years and after using her the first year of the program at Trabuco Mesa Elementary, I knew we not only had a talented person to work through, but one that was reasonably priced, dependable and had incredible pride in her work.

Five years later, we are still using Monica and our many tile walls are spectacular. The kids and families that have painted tiles, some painting a new one every year, come back repeatedly to view them...even after they have left the school. It is something wonderful and memorable to come back to. The tiles are super colorful and bright and we always receive lots of positive comments about them...even from outsiders. When the children paint these tiles, they leave a long lasting impression - from simple designs to the more complex - of their happy days at school, with friends, and teachers. My children both painted one every year and it is with great pleasure that we go back and see how the tiles changed over the years. A tile painted by a kindergartner is just as endearing as one painted by a more skilled 6th grader. It’s a perfect program to capture that specific moment in your child’s life. And, it lasts forever – where as children always grow up. But they love going back to get a taste of their early school days and to brag about the tile(s) they personally painted.

Monica was also always there to help with set up and instructions for the children and volunteer helpers. She has ideas and props that aid less skilled artists to do a great tile, as well as other props and ideas that can really boost a great artist’s work, too. Once the tiles were dry, she would pick them up, along with the paints and supplies, then, glaze and fire them. What we saw next was always something I looked forward to! The tiles always looked better than I could imagine and once they were installed on to a wall together, it captured the attention of everyone that arrived on campus. I would encourage you to stop by the school and go to the courtyard to see for yourself. The walls are truly beautiful and like I said, you’ll find people looking at them over and over again. And, the children were always as excited with anticipation at the unveiling of each new wall as I was…or the teachers and staff...it was always magical watching the tiles come to life.

Our school did a new wall every year, as well as columns. Sometimes, when enough money was raised, we would give each class a tile to do to represent their class, or teacher. Some tiles included all the student names, others a representation of something they learned that year, or a special outing or field trip they went on. One year the kids did portraits of their teachers and they were too cute for words. There is nothing like a 5 year-old’s interpretation of a teacher’s smile. That was the same year we encouraged the kids to do self-portraits as well. The centers of each mural had to do with the PTA membership theme for the year – a saying, and /or the school year. We would frame the mural with a black tile border – all covered by the initial cost of the tile.

Additionally, we were able to raise money for our school every year. Even when we gave each class a free tile, we could cover our expenses, the cost to install the tiles, the purchasing of border tiles and have some money left over. If we didn’t sell as many tiles one year as another, we just didn’t offer the free tile to each class.

I would highly recommend using Monica’s services for many reasons, but above all, because she loves what she does and her tiles are done with care and pride. You will not be disappointed with the outcome and as I said, Monica was by far the most reasonable in terms of costs per tile and product quality. Don’t settle for anything less.

But don’t take my word for it. Go and look for yourself.

And a personal note to Monica:

Thanks again for all your help and guidance! We couldn’t have done it so well without you! The tile walls we did at Trabuco Mesa are a source of real pride for me as well. During my time at the school when I started the program, until I served as PTA president - now leaving the school, I know the walls wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t gotten the ball rolling. And I know that they wouldn’t look as good as they do, if I hadn’t had you there to help build the vision of what we both knew they could be. Good luck with your business. Hopefully we’ll work together again soon.

Best Regards,
Andrea Padian
Trabuco Mesa PTA President 2005-2007