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DENVER — An art installation in an unlikely place that appears to be made of thousands of pieces is gaining attention in the East Colfax Ave. neighborhood.
“Not everybody has access to galleries and museums, and I want to share my art with anybody that’s either walking by or riding their bikes, driving by,” said artist Steve Hartbauer.
Hartbauer is sharing his art using his home’s exterior, where he’s methodically placed thousands of pieces of mosaic.
“My wife and I purchased this house about 10 years ago and we had decided that we wanted to create an art house together,” Hartbauer said.
They call it the “Enchanted Hart Haus.”
“I glue the tile onto screening that you use for stucco and that attaches to the wood,” Hartbauer said.
“It’s about the four elements. This element in the front is about water. On this (left) side is Earth. I am creating a tree out of mosaic tile. In the far back and garage is going to fire and on the north side it will be air.”
Hartbauer said that so far, the reaction from neighbors has been good.
“I have people waving at me and telling me, ‘Oh, I love your house, I love your house,' people honking their horns. It’s great. I love it,” Hartbauer said.
A love that has evolved and now grown.
“Steve told me, 'I want to do mosaic just on the front porch.' All of sudden I came home another day and there was some mosaic stuck on the side of the house,” said Hartbauer’s wife, Amy Banker.
“I want to cover the entire house with mosaic tile. I want to work on this until I’m an old, old man,” Hartbauer said.
Ten years into this project, Hartbauer asks, “What’s a few more?"
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