“Peace And Love Matter” courtyard at The Palm 

12 Aug “Peace And Love Matter” courtyard at The Palm 

Uplifting, relaxing, stimulating.
Mosaic art masterpiece.
Artist Krysta Bannis.
Envisioned by owners Marikit and Farzad.
Published August 2024.

Summary with quick links

Palm Motel history

The artist: Krysta Bannis

Krysta’s process to make the mosaic courtyard

Amazing details and artist insights

I enjoy finding “hidden” art throughout Ashland. One of the most dramatic and beautiful “hidden” artworks, an entire mosaic courtyard, was completed in the summer of 2023. You will find it at The Palm, the Siskiyou Boulevard motel with an iconic palm tree sign. Here is the story of this mosaic art masterpiece.

The vision for the “Peace and Love Matter” courtyard

“We [Marikit and Farzad] are very passionate about people looking at each other as one big family, versus my side/your side.”

Marikit Del Rosario-Sabet

With deep emotion, Marikit described her epiphany that brought clarity to their plans. “I was driving home one day, thinking about The Palm. I remember thinking: ‘Palm stands for Peace And Love Matter. That’s how we’re going to make it our own. That’s what we’re going to build the whole energy around.'” Marikit and Farzad came up with the concept of an outdoor seating area to become the new centerpiece for their vision.

The Palm Motel history

“I was attracted to Ashland for the acceptance and love I felt here, through the people, the arts, the food. I would like the guests who stay at The Palm to feel that acceptance and love both at the motel and throughout Ashland.”

Marikit Del Rosario-Sabet

The Palm Motor Court opened in 1944, when the Pacific Highway still channeled all north-south traffic through downtown Ashland. The distinctive palm-shaped sign was erected in 1966. It is one of three city-designated historic business signs in Ashland, which means the classic sign is protected, even though it does not comply with the current sign code. 

Marikit and her husband Farzad Sabet purchased The Palm in August 2021. The couple lives in Redding, but fell in love with the culture and people of Ashland many years ago. They saw the potential to upgrade this modest motel into a place where guests would feel special – and want to return year after year. Marikit spoke highly of the motel manager, Linda Kilcollins. She told me, “If we didn’t have Linda, we would not have gone forward with this investment. But she is the most amazing manager. She comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience; we come with the passion! We have a vision. What’s important for us is not just making money. It’s about making things more beautiful, and giving people who come not just a room, but an experience.”

They began by renovating the rooms with a mid-century modern design aesthetic, which has been retro-cool for many years, and continues to be stylish today. 

Then they set their sights on creating a memorable artistic experience for all motel guests. Here is what the courtyard area looked like “before and after.”

The Artist: Krysta Bannis

“When you’re doing art in public, someone comes along and gives you a little bit of encouragement each day.”

Krysta Bannis

Marikit and Farzad found their artist through admiring a mosaic artwork on the east wall at Abbey Carpet Mart on Siskiyou Boulevard. The mosaic is called “Uplifting” and is part of Ashland’s public art collection. They asked the Carpet Mart owners, “Who did that?” – and were put in touch with local artist Krysta Bannis. They explained their overall vision for the property, and Krysta got to work on design ideas.

Krysta considered several designs, including a 1960s themed hearts-and-ribbons design for the long curved bench, but none seemed right. When Marikit proposed “peace and love” in many languages for this area, Krysta’s design began to crystallize. Through a collaborative process, the design now includes the words “peace and love” in 32 languages, plus inspirational quotes on the same theme.

Krysta has been making and teaching art for more than 15 years. She is excited about her new creative endeavor: writing and illustrating children’s books based upon artistic themes, including the P.A.L.M. courtyard. Her website is a good way to see what she has created and will be creating. 

The curved benches courtyard

Krysta and Marikit described the mosaic art courtyard as a community gathering place, not just an artwork. They both like art that is either meaningful or functional, in addition to beautiful. Marikit brought up Antonio Gaudi’s famous Park Guell benches in Barcelona, Spain as an inspiration for this whimsical courtyard.

Marikit gave credit to Josh Bong of Joshua L Bong Construction as the “cement guy” who built the walls and benches, the “bones” of the courtyard. The curved bench area was challenging for Krysta to tile. Because it is such a large area, she first planned to cover it with large tiles she ordered from Italy. When these tiles arrived, they were so large that she would have needed to cut each one to fit. Instead, she used them in the pool area remodel.

Krysta’s process to make the mosaic courtyard

“One day I was working away and I heard someone singing in the pool area – not along with the radio, just singing. He is a playwright ….”

Krysta Bannis

The P.A.L.M. courtyard mosaic took Krysta a full year, partly because of breaks due to wet, very cold winter weather and smoky, very hot summer weather. The complexity of the design was also a factor. She had ceramic tiles to source, order from several countries, then cut to size. She affixed tens of thousands of beads to the bench walls. The mosaic covers the entire courtyard seating area, so each section was almost like creating another artwork. 

Despite weather challenges, Krysta described her love for creating art in a public space, rather than in a studio. Hundreds of guests stopped to watch her work, then shared encouraging words. A few guests stand out in her memory: a boy who gave her a piece of his birthday cake, an opera singer’s successes and tears, a wise sage who told her life story and listened to Krysta’s. 

I especially enjoyed Krysta’s tale of the playwright: “One day I was working away and I heard someone singing in the pool area – not along with the radio, just singing. The next morning when I arrived, the man who had been singing was sitting in my courtyard work area with his computer. We began to talk. He is a playwright and comes specifically to Ashland’s Palm Motel every year to write the music score for a Portland theater.” She learned that he had been singing his newly created music for an upcoming production.

Krysta taught art to all grade levels at Ashland’s TRAILS School for several years. She involved her students in making ceramic elements for the courtyard. She had an art group that “worked their butts off,” including helping to lay out the beads on pieces of tape before the beads were affixed to the walls. Most visibly, the flowers you see were made by the students. Krysta wants people to know that children in the community were actively involved in creating this large artwork. 

Story of the beads

Looking at the thousands of small round beads along the on top of the wall, I asked Krysta, “What do you call this design element?” She answered, “These are glass beads.” I added, “They are incredible. They make the entire mosaic, somehow.” Krysta was excited to tell the story of the woman she calls ‘the bead lady.’ “This wasn’t part of the design at all, and wouldn’t have happened without a guest – a really interesting person who wants to remain anonymous. She was staying at the motel and came to watch me work. I was putting on the black and white hexagonal Bauhaus tile, and she was agog, excited to see them.” 

“I had just started on the mosaic. Most everything was blank. The bead lady enthused, ‘I collect beads. I want to show you some. I have four warehouses full of beads!’ Krysta thought to herself, four warehouses, that’s a lot of beads, then said, ‘Would you like the beads to be part of my design? They could go along the top of the wall, everywhere.’ The bead lady was thrilled and honored to be a part of my work.”

You’ll notice that the beads come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Krysta explained, “None of these are plastic. Every bead is natural. You’ll notice we designed it so you don’t have similar shapes and colors next to each other. I wanted it to look like a riverbed, as if rocks were sparkling underwater.”

It took a month for Krysta to attach every single bead by hand, one by one! That is a commitment and labor of love on the part of Krysta, Marikit and Farzad. 

Amazing details and artist insights

The P.A.L.M. mosaic courtyard is filled with amazing details. I encourage you to discover them on your own. Here is the story of one detail that includes a “story-book moment.”

As part of the overall theme, two doves touching heads became the central symbol for the “peace and love” bench area. Doves are a natural “peace” symbol, which Krysta also connected with the “love” theme through the shape of her design. Krysta described it in detail: “The outer beads are Guatemalan jade, while the doves touching heads are hand-made from clay. They rest on a background of marble tesserae – small marble mosaic cubes. The nest that enfolds the doves is made from recycled, tumbled glass, symbolizing the harsh, fragile world we live in right now.”

Krysta concluded her story with a surprising, story-book moment, as she pointed to a bead under their beaks, between the two doves. She was in the studio as she was making the doves. One moment, she looked down, where hundreds of beads that had been donated by “the bead lady” were scattered around her feet. Her eye spotted a heart-shaped stone that looked like it had the world on it. She laughed as she concluded, “It was just sitting there – and it fit exactly under my doves!” Take a close look at the photo to see what Krysta is describing. 

I love to learn from artists about seemingly small details of their work: why or how the detail was made just so. “This star is so important to have up here, visually,” explained Krysta as we stood in front of the palm tree and ocean section of the mosaic wall. 

“There is so much strong color down here, and your eye is lifted to this little punch of orange.” Marikit had suggested colors such as blue and orange and pink. Krysta wondered to herself, what in nature has those colors? Her answer: sunsets! They have blue and orange and pink colors. So this is a sunset scene at a peaceful, relaxing beach.

“Peace And Love Matter” expressed in art

Back to Marikit’s vision

I began with Marikit’s vision, and I will conclude with another element of her vision. She told me: “I remember going to motels with my parents, because that’s what we could afford. Like being able to just drive up to the door and go into the room. Now motels don’t have to be what motels were. It can be such an elegant place to stay, a place where you want to stay because you feel so good. I want that experience for everyone who comes here. This is a place where you go with family. This is the place where you go on girls’ trips. This is the place where you have reunions, where you say: ‘I can’t wait to sit in the courtyard and just enjoy this beautiful piece of art.'” 

References:

Bannis, Krysta. Interview and personal communications, 2023 and 2024.

Del Rosario-Sabet, Marikit. Interview and personal communications, September 2023.

Sabet, Farzad. Interview and personal communications, September 2023.