Through this project, we are reminded that mosaic-making is a metaphor for healing itself—slow, deliberate, and rooted in connection.
Lead Artist Wanda Montemayor
As the nation prepares to honor 250 years of freedom this July 4, the community of Kerr County, Texas, is preparing a tribute of its own. On July 4, 2025, the area was engulfed in torrential flooding as the equivalent of more than a month’s worth of rain was dumped on the region. On a day typically dedicated to celebrations and fireworks, the country watched as rescue efforts unfolded at Camp Mystic and elsewhere in the county after the Guadalupe River crested at 35 feet—higher than a three-story house. With a death toll of 119 people and two still missing, it was one of Texas’ deadliest floods.
Out of that tragedy the Kerr County Love Project was born. Headed by Wanda Montemayor, LPC-S, ATR-BC, ATCS, clinical director of Community Arts, LLC in Austin, Texas, the initiative will honor not only the lives lost but also the resiliency of the region via a community mosaic. Over the past year, Montemayor and other project volunteers—including J&R Tile Owner Erin Albrecht—have helped create over 10,000 handmade ceramic tiles, engaging 55 professional artists, partnering with more than 20 organizations, and bringing 7,387 people together through workshops, schools, camps, community events, and educator programs.
“Rather than creating a memorial, our goal has been to create a place where a community can heal by creating something beautiful together,” Montemayor explained. “At its heart, the Kerr County Love Project is about slowing down, making art, and sitting together in community—because communities that create together also rebuild and reimagine together. Every tile has been made by someone whose life has been touched by this community.”
Tile industry pros step forward to help
In a testament to the community aspect of the tile industry itself, Montemayor said one of the most inspiring parts of the project has been watching industry pros step forward to help. Albrecht and the San Antonio-based J&R Tile team have volunteered their expertise to help transform the thousands of individually created tiles into a permanent public installation built to last for generations, and Frank Galvan of ARDEX donated the adhesives and grout that will be used during the assembly and installation process.
NTCA honored Albrecht with the first-ever Community Impact Award for the contractor’s involvement in this project at the Coverings 2024 show.
“I’d love to find a way for our industry to put its weight behind this, and I think it’s exactly the kind of work that reflects the best of what we do,” Albrecht said. “It’s the same healing model and the same lead artist, Wanda Montemayer, behind the award-winning Uvalde Love Project in 2023, which became a real source of comfort and pride for that community.”
To get involved, contact Albrecht at [email protected]. The team is still seeking partners for:
- Steel or aluminum framing materials
- 1” substrate panels
- Fabrication of the mounting system
- Installation hardware
- Skilled fabrication and installation assistance
- Volunteer installers
- Financial support for fabrication and installation costs
Healing through art
As in Uvalde, Texas, following the school shooting that claimed 21 innocent lives, the process of mosaic-making—slow, intentional, and focused on the unique sum of its parts—is helping Kerr County come together in meaningful ways to celebrate its bonds and find hope. As community members score, snap, and assemble the tile pieces into a one-of-a-kind tribute, they are reminded that they are part of something bigger than themselves, while also learning about how art therapy supports emotional wellness, growth, and connection.
“Through hands-on workshops, we invite parents, teachers, kids, and neighbors to help shape this collective artwork and experience the calming, restorative benefits of art-making,” Montemayor said. “The Kerr County Love Project is led by art therapists who believe in the power of creativity to heal, connect, and celebrate community.”
In community listening sessions, attendees highlighted the history and natural beauty of Kerr County, and the professionally designed mural will pay homage to these grounding aspects. Amid depictions of Schreiner University, Crider’s Dance Hall, the Doyle Center, and the Tortilla Factory—hallmarks of the diverse group of people who call Kerr County home—a range of animals, plants, and natural details will reflect the richness of the local environment and the community’s connection to nature.
Throughout the mural, 121 mosaic birds will soar over the landscape, a tribute to the lives lost in the flood and a way for the community to honor them for generations to come.
Bringing the mural to life
The mural will span 72 ft., bringing together tens of thousands of mosaic pieces. To unite the depictions of birds, minnows, native plants, camps, and historic institutions in a celebration of community and connectivity, J&R Tile plans to build an 8’ x 72’ gridded metal frame on the wall of a prominent building in downtown Kerrville, the county seat. The group determined this to be the best method instead of direct bonding to the split-face brick/block, due to venting, condensation lines and substrate concerns.
The backer/substrate must be able to withstand harsh weather conditions—Kerrville experiences a significant amount of rain and muggy summer temperatures that can reach above 100°F—so Albrecht is coordinating with LATICRETE to ensure the mosaic will also stand as a tribute to craftsmanship. J&R VP of Operations Triniti Vigil will first consult with a local architect to confirm the engineering details, before building a 2’ x 2’ mockup to validate the substrate and frame concept and determine the appropriate flashing and weatherproofing.
The team is planning a pre-mounting “mosaicathon” for July 22. While epoxy offers the strongest bond, it would add to the installation’s complexity and environmental constraints, so ARDEX X 90 OUTDOOR cement mortar is planned to affix the mosaic pieces to the substrate, which will happen in a studio offsite. Using to-scale prints, J&R’s experts will organize the pre-mounting in batches—piping thin set on via bags for clean application—then store the panels flat or on A-frames with straps to prevent warping, using pool noodles for protective spacers.
Once the mural is ready to be installed this fall, J&R will have an onsite “grout party” using ARDEX WA High-performance, 100% Solids Epoxy Grout and Adhesive. Due to the sharp glass edges and uneven surfaces, they are planning to use floats and possibly silicone squeegee tools in place of hand-grouting.
Community glazing parties planned for July 5 and August 8
In the meantime, local residents are invited to two more community glazing sessions to finalize the components of the mural: one on July 5 and another on August 8. To be held at local pottery studio The Color of Clay—whose owner, Lisa Jones, and her assistant, Jennifer Daschel, are firing all of the tiles—the workshops are free, with light refreshments and snacks provided.
“This has truly become a collaboration between artists, educators, first responders, families, manufacturers, contractors, and volunteers, all working together to create something that will serve the community for decades,” Montemayor said.
