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Piece 24

Between 2015 and 2016, a team of mosaic artists and Dallas high school students designed and built Piece 24, a monumental sculpture that stands in front of the Oak Cliff Cultural Center on Jefferson Boulevard in Dallas, Texas.

A low-angle view of the colorful, abstract Piece 24 sculpture set against a deep blue, cloudless sky. The base of the sculpture is adorned in bright, multicolored spheres and mosaic tiles that form patterns, including a large human eye.
Piece 24, shot from below after it was installed in Oak Cliff, Dallas. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.

“Make my hands respect the things you have made.”

Piece 24 was 29 Pieces’ first major public sculpture and is thematically based on a line from the poem “Let Me Walk in Beauty” by Chief Yellow Lark, a nineteenth century Lakota elder.

The project, produced with early support from Craig Schenkel Real Estate, aimed to spread the message of a “viral influence” inspiring people to choose to be contagions of respect and compassion for all living things.

Colorful section of Piece 24 depicting a stylized human figure made of pink tiles, reaching up to hold a blue and green circular object resembling Earth. The background features vibrant patterns of blue, yellow, green, and orange tiles, with large, glossy, multicolored spheres embedded in the mosaic.
A section of Piece 24 featuring a vibrant sunburst design. The center of the sun is made up of concentric circles of small blue tiles, radiating outward into bright yellow and orange square tiles.
View of The top of Piece 24, which features a 3-dimensional mosaic hand with geometric patterns, an eye symbol in the center of the palm, and multicolored spheres extending from its fingertips with wavy metal rods.
Close up shots of Piece 24. Photos by Danny Fulgencio.

Piece 24—which takes its name from a series of sculptures designed by 29 Pieces co-founder Karen Blessen—was a collaboration between five Dallas high schools, including W.H. Adamson, Sunset, and Booker T. Washington High Schools, Dallas Can Academy, and Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, along with artists and industry professionals.

A team of 15 high school students from participating Dallas schools worked under the apprenticeship of master mosaic artists Nancy Pollock and Julie Richey and steel artist Albert Scherbarth to conceptualize, design and construct the sculpture.

Richey wears a baseball cap and protective gloves while working outside on the Piece 24 sculpture, which is partially tiled.
Mosaic artist Julie Richey grinds mortar to prepare for the next section of mosaic tiles. Photo by 29 Pieces.
Smiling and laughing teenagers gather around the human-sized mosaic hand, which is covered in glittery tiles.
Dallas high school student interns pose with the mosaic hand that will become the focal point of the Piece 24 sculpture. Photo by 29 Pieces.
In a brightly lit indoor workshop, twelve students and artists sit on the floor and stand around partially-tiled parts of Piece 24, whose hollow inner structure is exposed.
Piece 24 artists and student interns gather around the frame that will become the sculpture's base.  Photo by 29 Pieces.
Two young women sit at a table with piles of blue and yellow mosaic tiles and work intently on a masaic design.
Student interns Adriana Cruz and Karina Muñiz practice mosaic techniques while developing design concepts for Piece 24.  Photo by 29 Pieces.

The 21-foot sculpture features a mosaic hand invoking both Native American totems and ancient Christian reliquaries. It stands as a communal symbol of respect and compassion.

The project gave underserved youth the opportunity to earn scholarships and learn life and job skills while working directly with professionals in design, planning, construction, installation, marketing, documentation and event planning.

Close up of Richard Rodriguez, a high school student, wearing a camouflage bandana, gauge earrings, and sitting in front of a white backdrop.
Close up of high school student Karina Muniz smiling in her home.
“[The] Piece 24 project has been one of the biggest things in my life. It’s a big accomplishment; I never thought I’d be part of something this big at such a young age … It makes me feel proud to be part of something with a beautiful message.”
Maria Patiño, Piece 24 Scholarship Recipient, W.H. Adamson High School (Dallas ISD)
A young woman stands in front of a camera crew with the partially completed Piece 24 sculpture behind her.
Student intern Hope Trevino stands across from the Piece 24 sculpture. Photo by 29 Pieces.
A crowd of people celebrate around Piece 24 as confetti falls along Jefferson Boulevard in Dallas, Texas.
On December 17, 2016, Piece 24 was unveiled in a public dedication ceremony. Photo by 29 Pieces.
A group of teenagers and adults smile and hug in front of the Piece 24 sculpture on Jefferson Boulevard.
Student interns and 29 Pieces co-founder Karen Blessen pose in front of the completed Piece 24 sculpture. Photo by 29 Pieces.
The bright, colorful Piece 24 glints in the sun as a man on a bike passes by.
Street view of Piece 24 on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff, Dallas. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.

The Dallas Public Art Committee and Office of Cultural Affairs unanimously approved the adoption of the sculpture, and 29 Pieces unveiled it on December 17, 2016 in a public ceremony celebrating its permanent home on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff.

Let Me Walk in Beauty

O Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty
and let my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears grow sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lesson you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength not to be greater than my brother or sister
but to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me always ready
to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes,
So when life fades as the fading sunset
my spirit may come to you without shame.

Chief Yellow Lark, Nineteenth Century Lakota Elder

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