Plumbing 
Painted tiles in Las Vegas, Nevada, healing garden, honored the 58 people killed in the October of 2017 shooting.
A group of ceramic tile artists from Las Vegas, Nevada, who helped their community heal from the Route 91 shooting in 2017, are bringing tiles and paintbrushes to help Uvalde residents create beauty from the ugliness of the May 24 shooting.
“We are a team of six ceramic tile artists who are hosting a memorial tile painting event – free of charge – for victims’ families, students, teachers, medical personnel and the citizens of Uvalde impacted by the senseless shooting massacre at Robb Elementary this past May,” said Gail Schomisch the All Fired Up fundraising organizer. “Students and their families will be able to memorialize and honor lives lost and lives forever impacted by the unimaginable events of that day using the simple power of a paintbrush and their imagination.”
Teams of ceramic clay tile artists will be in Uvalde Oct. 22-23 to facilitate the painting of the tiles at three sites simultaneously.
Activities will take place Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, El Progreso Memorial Library, and St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. On Oct. 23, activities are set from noon to 5 p.m. at the first two locations and from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at St. Philip’s.
Schomisch and Jackie Burrow, owners of Las Vegas paint-your-own tile studio, will be in Uvalde to help organize the event. They will be joined by other tile artists: Sandi Kirkwood, owner of Clay Casa Pottery in New Braunfels; Jenean Mills, owner of Art Attack LV in San Antonio; Sara Thompson, owner of Ceramic Café in Kansas and Romy Norberto owner of Picasso’s Creative Workshop in Florida.
“Guests will be encouraged to join in, sit, relax and paint a tile expressing their heartfelt messages and feelings for the victims, their families, Robb Elementary students and the community of Uvalde,” Schomisch said.
The group will provide 2,500 6-by-6-inch clay tiles and supplies for painting, overglaze and firing of the tiles. Their supply list includes 1,500 pounds of tiles, 1,200 paint brushes, 170 bottles of ceramic glaze and 1,200 water bowls.
This healing event for Uvalde was born from the tragedy that befell Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017, when a mass shooting took the lives of 58 people and wounded 500 at a Harvest Festival Concert, according to the All Fired Up website. A local landscape artist in Las Vegas wanted to create a pop-up memorial for the community to gather and grieve, according to Schomisch. The idea blossomed into a permanent Healing Garden planted with 58 trees, one for each life lost, with walking paths, waterfalls, sculptures and a raised heart-shaped garden bed decorated with tiles in the downtown arts district.
“Upon completion of more than 2,500 clay tiles gifted to the occasion, the tiles will be returned to city leaders for oversight and safekeeping to be installed as they see fit for a permanent mural display,” Schomisch said. “The tiles are intended to be shown together in a patchwork mural of individual messages of love and reverence. A public building, school wall or park site will be the intended destination for many years of reflection and visitation to the installation site.
She added: “Uvalde is a wonderful small community that could benefit from the type of art we do. We want everyone to show up and paint until the last tile is pulled out of the box.” For more information, see loveforuvalde.com/.
