What is the Uvalde Love Project?
The Uvalde Love Project is a powerful healing mosaic project using art therapy and tile making to help support the survivors and community heal in Uvalde, Texas. Led by Wanda Montemayor and a team of therapists, this project resulted in a beautiful mosaic mural filled with thousands of handmade tiles, each telling a unique story. The Uvalde Love Project is a powerful example of how art therapy and community collaboration can bring hope, healing, and joy to a town in need.
Our Project is Complete!
The Uvalde Love Project’s healing mosaic mural is complete—thanks to the incredible people of Uvalde and our amazing partners. To the parents, children, and teachers who shared your stories and strength—thank you. To those who donated and supported this vision, we are forever grateful. In the face of hardship, hope is beginning to shine through.
Click here to follow along for more about our work in Uvalde on Instagram Stories.
Below is a small snapshot of the huge impact
your donations have made in the community of Uvalde.
🚙 Over 5,000 Miles traveled by our team from
Austin and San Antonio to Uvalde.
👨👩👧👦 Over 2,000 volunteers have created tiles
to contribute to this project.
🌮 40 Tacos and Tiles groups were run with children,
families, and teachers within the community of Uvalde.
🧑🎨 4 days were spent in Austin providing trauma-informed training
to the Art teachers of Uvalde.
☀️ 2 weekends and 50 volunteers helped assemble
the mosaic mural at Jardin de los Heroes Park.
The Map of the Project
A team of Art Therapists led small workshops and group therapy sessions designed to help participants explore healing, celebrate the present, and deepen their love for one another and their community. Groups were tailored by age—children, teens (including homeschoolers), and adults—creating safe spaces where voices could be heard, connections built, and healing shared.
Working in age-based groups allowed participants to learn from one another and build support networks that extended beyond the sessions into the broader community. Our team also collaborated with teachers, tutors, and city personnel to offer trauma-informed trainings and hands-on workshops.
During the workshops, participants helped create hand-made tiles for a mosaic mural—each one a reflection of joy, nature, and themes chosen by Uvalde community members. The final artwork is now permanently installed at Jardin de los Heroes Park.
Making Tiles Across America for the Uvalde Love Project
People across the nation have been asking how to create and contribute tiles to the Uvalde Love project. We’d love to have your participation and will add your tiles to the wall. This can be a meaningful project at schools, or even a useful tool in an art therapy session. We’ve put together a “how-to” video describing how to create and contribute. Please watch the tutorial videos below, and download the tile template here.
Once you watch the tutorial videos, you can download the lesson plans here.
Intro to tilemaking
Lesson: Day 1
Lesson: Day 2
Detail Lessons
All clay used in tile creation for this mosaic mural must be classified as Cone 5 or higher. Look for “mid-fire” clay if you’re choosing a clay medium. You can choose to glaze them yourself using our color palette (click here for palette), or we can glaze them for you.
For delivery logistics and questions, please email wanda@comarts.us
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Tacos and Tiles
Connecting and supportive community art events co-facilitated by a Licensed Therapist and Uvalde community members. Create a mosaic tile mural together as a community! Our events do not “feel like” traditional therapy, and talking is not required. We always aim to have food provided at our sessions, because tacos make every gathering even better!
Who: Small groups of children, family, and community members, supported by trauma-informed therapists
What: Group sessions to create tiles for a community mosaic mural and connect
When: Various sessions throughout the 2022-23 School Year
Where: Tile making will take place at St. Henry de Osso Family Project in Uvalde. The community mosaic mural will be installed and displayed at Jardin de los Heroes Park.
Uvalde Love Teacher Workshops
Who: Five to eight Art/ Elective Teachers, supported by trauma-informed therapists
What: A group workshop series on the following topics
• Trauma-informed teaching practices
• Therapeutic art / expressive techniques that can be applied in the classroom
• Calming, regulation, and mindfulness strategies that can be incorporated into classroom lessons or used personally
• Burnout prevention and sustainability for teachers
• Neuroscience basics
When: Regular (at least monthly) sessions for the 2022-23 school year. The Uvalde Love workshops will take place after school hours or on weekends, so teachers will receive a small stipend.
Where: St. Henry’s Community Center