Virginia City Tiles: Art as a Voice for Place

via UNR Extension

Summary: This Community Art Project is organized as a collaboration between UNR Extension, NDOT, and St. Mary’s Art Center. The lecture-and-art class will be held on Nov. 14, 2026, at St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

This class is an exploration of the process used by the Nevada Department of Transportation to decorate Nevada’s freeways and highway interchanges throughout the state. This aesthetic enhancement of our major roadways brings life and dynamism to what otherwise would be a dull expanse of concrete, and enhances the individual natures of each area where the work is done.

Accordingly, the class will begin with a brief lecture by the Landscape Architect Supervisor of NDOT’s Design Division, John L’Etoile, who will take class members through a visual journey of some of Nevada’s most iconic freeway art. Following the lecture, participants will be given a half-fired (called “bisque”) tile to paint with glazes a scene of Virginia City that expresses the town’s unique blend of architectural joy and landscape drama. This part of the class will be taught by Dane Meier, a Reno ceramicist and art teacher at McQueen High School in Reno.  Students will be given visual models and guidelines to follow, but are encouraged to express themselves freely within the Virginia City model.

At the end of the class, the tiles will be collected and taken to a professional kiln for firing. Final tiles will be displayed at the Community Chest in Virginia City.

The class is limited to 24 students, so register soon at https://www.stmarysartcenter.org/event-details/art-as-a-voice-for-place-community-art-project.  The cost is $15.

For questions, contact Tisha Carper Long, UNR Extension Instructor, at tcarperlong@unr.edu, or 775-887-2252.