Coronado’s Love of Tiles
The Artistic Legacy of Kirstin Green
In Coronado, where art and community spirit intertwine, Kirstin Green is the personification of creativity and dedication to her hometown. Kirstin was born in Coronado in 1976, her mom worked at Sharp Coronado Hospital for five decades and her dad served as the head running coach at Coronado High School from the mid-1990s. Known for her stunning mosaic installations adorning public spaces, Kirstin's passion for enhancing the beauty of Coronado knows no bounds. She once jokingly (or I initially thought it was a joke) commented that her goal was to create beautiful mosaics on every available wall in town and with five pieces in the City of Coronado Public Art collection and more than that on the Coronado High School campus Kirstin is doing a good job of reaching her goal. Her public installations can be viewed and enjoyed at Spreckels Park, the Coronado Municipal Golf Course, The Cays Tennis Court, and Sharp Coronado Hospital. In addition, she has completed dozens of installations for private residences and businesses.
elaborate, housed in the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatic Complex. “Water” captures the color and shapes of water while providing an area for seating in the complex. This was Kirstin’s third public art installation. In 2010 Green was once again commissioned by the City of Coronado to create “Par for the Course” in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Coronado Municipal Golf Course which opened in 1957. Kirstin used multi-colored tesserae (individual pieces of stained glass) to create this mosaic. It is located just outside the main entrance to the Coronado Golf Course Clubhouse. Each tessera radiates out from the golf ball and creates a feeling of action. The mosaic features a ceramic golf ball made from a cast of a real golf ball. In 2017, Coronado built a new restroom in Spreckels Park, and at that time the original mosaic was cleaned and updated with a new frame and lighting. In addition, Kirstin returned to Spreckels to install two new mosaics on the
Kirstin installed her first public art piece, “Concert in the Park,” a three-panel mosaic with assistance from Coronado High School Art students. This was the first of many collaborations with Laura Hill, the amazing art teacher who has been teaching there since 1995. Completed in 2002, the piece has been the backdrop for where the community gathers to picnic, play, and hear music. It is an integral part of a Coronado summer, and the theme of music and community was ideal for Kirstin Green’s first collaboration with Coronado High School students as well as her foray into the world of public art. In 2003 she created a bench in the Cays near the Coronado Cays Tennis Courts. “Silver Strand Sunset '' pays homage to the amazing sunsets visible on the Strand. Five years later Kirstin created another bench, but this one a bit more FEBRUARY 2024 |
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