By Chris Mac Kenzie
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE —  A memorial wall at the corner of 7th Avenue and 11th Street, near the site of the infamous Sept. 11, 2001 attack in New York City, holds more than 5,000 hand painted tiles honoring those who died in that horrible event. This fall a tile from Alpine will be displayed on that wall.
     Aspiring artists of all ages, both amateur and professionals, are invited to compete in the contest sponsored by Fantastic Ceramics, Alpine’s paint-your-own pottery studio.
     The artists paint their own designs on a tile provided by the studio which will then glaze and fire it. The designs can reflect patriotism, the town of Alpine, or they can be an emotional expression of the tragedy or inspiration as America honors those lost in the terror attack.
     For now, Robin Leo, the owner of the studio and an Alpine resident for many years, is displaying the finished tiles created by adults, teens and young children in the studio but all of them, except the winner, will be shown at the Alpine Arts Festival at Community Park on Sept. 30. The local contest closes on Aug. 23, as the winning tile must be in New York by Sept. 4.
     A trio of judges, Diana Aguillar of Viejas, Ann Pierce and Charlie Howell will select the winner to represent Alpine on the memorial wall.
     “I am donating 50 percent of the cost of creating the tiles, $6.95 each, to the September 11th Scholarship Alliance,” said Leo, who, as Robin Dawson, was Miss Junior Alpine of 1984.
     “The Alliance is responsible for coordinating scholarship funds created to assist families of people killed or disabled in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, including airplane crews and passengers, World Trade Center and Pentagon workers and visitors, relief workers, fire fighters, law enforcement and port authority officers and emergency medical personnel.”
     The memorial tile project began as a one-woman effort by a New York studio owner, Lorrie Veasey and has grown to encompass almost a full city block thanks to the participation of Paint Your Own Pottery Studios across the U.S.A. and Europe.
     Fantastic Ceramics, located at 2719 Alpine Blvd., Suite D, is open from noon to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The phone number is 445-7200.
     For more information about the contest check online at www.tilesforamerica.com.

Photos: Top — The owner of Fantastic Ceramics, Robin Leo shows off a tile which was designed by a local adult. Depicted are the day of the terror attacks in New York, as well as the local disaster, the October 2003 Cedar Fire. Bottom — Robin Leo thinks they’re never too young to develop artistic talent so she’s encouraging three year old Ivan Estrada and four year old Kylie McCarty to try tile painting.