Dear Collins Family-

My name is Heath Pecorino. I serve on the Board for Ampersand Arts Group, an arts organization working in Staunton. I received you're email address from our Artistic Director, Greg Beam.

Myself and two other board members (Drew Bergman and Brooks Hollar) have an idea for a community-wide mosaic project commemorating the life of Mrs. Margaret Collins. Although once assembled it would be a small piece of artwork (roughly 32" x 64") it will be composed of 256 separate canvases, each canvas 2" x 2", painted by anyone who wishes to be involved in the project. If this project receives enough attention and participation, as we believe it will, we would also like to create a mosaic of Mr. Fletcher Collins. Anyone is invited to participate in painting a canvas, regardless of artistic skill, and they can paint anything they want it. This work will inevitably involve hundreds of artists within our community. As Mr. and Mrs. Collins were two of the community's most gracious supporters of the arts, Ampersand firmly believes they are the most worthy subjects for our mosaic project.

As the project is still in its infancy, we are still discussing potential locations to exhibit the completed mosaic. It is quite possible that it may be displayed in multiple places throughout town (including the new art center, the Beverley Street School, or the Public Library). Eventually, we would like this artwork to be dedicated to a fitting institution and displayed in a prominent setting, such as the Fletcher Collins Theatre at Mary Baldwin. That's still a long way away, so we've got plenty of time to discuss the best locations.

Obviously, we will only pursue this project with the entire family's permission, and that's why I'm really contacting you today. I'm wondering if you and your family would allow us the opportunity to pursue this project. I don't think we need anything signed and notarized, but there's no way I'm going to pursue this unless everyone in the family supports the idea. Ampersand won't require any financial assistance for the project (though we certainly wouldn't refuse any help you might freely offer). Ampersand will fund the project, asking for a small donation of $2 or $3 from each participant to offset the cost of materials. I should add that this should in no way be considered a financial venture. Ampersand is in the process of applying for non-profit status with the IRS, and we are resolute in performing as an organization dedicated to bringing the community together through the arts.

We have chosen a specific image to serve as a guide for our mosaic. I believe this image may be the property of Mary Baldwin college, though I am not certain. In any case, we will also require the permission of whomsoever owns the rights to the image, as we would like to display it alongside the mosaic. This image is attached to this email as "FIGURE 1". If you or any member of your family knows who owns the rights to this image, that would be a considerable help.

But you're probably wondering "How does all of this work?" Well, I've created a model in Photoshop to demonstrate it.

Figure 1: Original Image

Figure 2: Goal Image

Figure 3: Goal Image with 16 x 16 grid applied

We take a small square from the image, in this case Mrs. Collins' portrait (FIGURE 2). We break that image into a grid of 16 x 16 units (FIGURE 3). Each unit has a specific grayscale value which is identified in Photoshop (FIGURE 4). Each canvas we receive from a participant has it's own grayscale value. Once we identify the grayscale value of an individual canvas, we simply place the canvas within the grid corresponding to the numbers we identified in figure 4. As an experiment, I grabbed a handful of images online of several famous paintings. Then I ran those paintings through the same process outlined above, creating an experimental mosaic (FIGURE 5). although at a close distance it looks messy, when we pull back far away from it, we get a fairly faithful reproduction of our original image.

Figure 4: Greyscale Values

Figure 5: Completed Image, close up

Figure 6: Completed Image, mock distance applied

To make the process easier, one of our board members, Brooks Hollar, has offered to develop software that may arrange the images for us. This will free up a tremendous amount of time in the assembly of the mosaic.

As the project requires the participation of so many individuals, we believe it is best to begin with only one mosaic, the image of Mrs. Collins. If the project becomes as popular as we expect it to, and enough people express a desire to participate, we will attempt a second mosaic of Mr. Collins. However, the immensity of this task does not escape me, therefore I believe it's prudent to attempt the first, and then go with the second.

I ask that you discuss this amongst your family, as it is an idea we are very excited about, but will only pursue with your consent. If you would like to speak to me directly, you're welcome to contact me at 540-245-0200 or through this email address. If you'd like to contact our artistic director, Greg Beam, you can email him at inuwindows@gmail.com

Thank you very much for your time, and I do hope to be hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Heath Pecorino