Did You Know? True Artists Are Part of the OTL Team

It’s no secret that OTL has deep expertise in delivering beautiful artistic outdoor water features, rockwork, and theming to distinguished destinations throughout the globe.

In fact, we collaborate with many outstanding artists, both rising stars and world-renowned talents, to design and build these magnificent projects on behalf of our clients.

Less widely known is that some of these artists are actually members of the OTL team, both in the field and in the office, including our very own director of creative design, Chris Roy.

Chris recently utilized his artistic talents in an outdoor water feature project at Jordan Downs Freedom Plaza, a brand-new retail center by developer Primestor Development Inc. that is part of one of the largest urban-renewal projects in the country, located in Los Angeles, California’s Watts neighborhood.

To create a sense of placemaking and bring the project to life, Chris personally crafted a series of typography and drawings called Instill, which are etched into the fountain’s natural stone columns fabricated by Southwest Boulder.

Phrases such as “Peace,” “Resilient & Unique,” “Community,” “Family & Love,” and “Watts – We are Taught to Survive” adorn the dark-grey polished basalt columns. In addition to fulfilling a city ordinance requiring 1% of the cost of private development fees to be used for an art component, Instill expresses the sentiments of the people of Watts, a town that is undergoing a renaissance after years of urban blight.

According to Chris, “The name Instill signifies instilling community value into this new center. It was very gratifying to physically bring this series of phrases and illustrations to life. One of the stone columns in Instill features a drawing of Watts Towers Art Center, which is roughly three blocks away from Freedom Plaza and is undergoing a major restoration. Fountains have long been community gathering spaces, and now a piece of the community has been commemorated within the fountain at Jordan Downs Freedom Plaza, which is truly inspiring for the residents of Watts.”

Look for OTL to feature more of our team’s unique talents and skills in upcoming outdoor water features across the globe.