For local artist Wayne Geary, driving down 600 South is especially significant with the recent completion of a ceramic mosaic.

Geary came up with the design for the mosaic, found on the outside of the YouthCity main office at 210 E. 600 South, and helped direct the 64 area youths who prepared the 768 tiles it contains.

"(Being involved with the mosaic) feels great. Every time I go past here I can't miss it. I'm really glad to see it," he said. "I like to see it under different light conditions. It's reflective, so it gets nice visual effects. . . . Salt Lake is lacking in color. It's nice to get something to liven things up."

On Dec. 14, YouthCity leaders held a short dedication ceremony for the mosaic, inviting current participants in the program to attend. The mosaic was created by fourth- through eighth-grade students participating in the YouthCity summer programs at Central City Recreation Center, Liberty Park, Fairmont Park and the Sorenson Cultural Center.

Camille Paul, 9, who is a fourth-grader at Calvin Smith Elementary in Taylorsville, said she painted a tile with Japanese or Chinese characters on it. She said she chose it because she thought it looked interesting and added more colors to make it even more interesting. She enjoyed herself in the process.

"I feel like I should do more," she said. "I like it because it's fun."

Helping increase the youths' appreciation for art was one of the goals for Dan Gerhart, director of Global Artways, the Salt Lake City arts program.

"I just wanted to engage the kids in artmaking, something for the public view," he said. "I want to help them become a leader in their peer groups and have a presence here in the city."

Geary said he decided to do an abstract design on the building to reflect the multi-cultural aspect of the city and the children who helped make it. Geary researched designs from many different countries. He showed the designs to students, and they did their own versions of them on the tiles.

"I wove the design together so there's not any one culture predominating," he said. "It's an interwoven mosaic of design motifs from different periods of history and cultures."

Sasha Nicho, 12, a seventh-grader at Beehive Academy in Salt Lake City, said she wanted to include different cultures in her tile because Utah has people from so many ethnic backgrounds.

"Everybody has a part (in Utah)," she said. "It was really fun (making the tiles). It was fun to mix the colors and make something beautiful."

Gerhart said he liked getting youths involved in a public art project. He enjoyed seeing how excited those who worked on the mural were to see it, especially the tiles they made for it.

"I loved seeing the kids respond to it and how excited they got to see their own tiles," he said. "I used to be a classroom teacher. To see kids so positive was nice."

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com