It's
a mosaic that looks like a Buffalo made from self portraits drawn by people of
our community. How
It Began... Brian
Nesline was inspired to create a bridge between artists, non-artists and art itself.
In imagining a solution to his quest, he used the Creative Problem Solving model
(CPS) from his creative studies coursework at Buffalo State  College,
where he received his BFA in Graphic Design. The
end result was "Faces of Buffalo", the first ever community-wide event
of its kind in that everyone is welcome to participate each year by creating their
self portraits and other drawings to be united into beautiful mosaics representing
the community. The
Mission...engage a community! Faces
of Buffalo continues to expand the concept of public art by including every participant
as an artist. The aim of Nesline's "Faces of ..." innovation is to excite
and  unite
communities through simple, practical creative expression. In
spring 2002, Brian Nesline and his now wife Mary Nesline began to collect self-portraits
from every willing participant in the community. Self Portrait Response Formsİ
were made available at events and locations throughout the area. The
vision was to create a large scale mosaic of a Buffalo using all of the faces.
Close up, viewers see all of the individual self-portraits; from a distance -
It's a Buffalo! "I'm going to make a mosaic of a Buffalo out of all
our faces..." And
It Grew... By the end of the first collection year [2002], Faces of Buffalo visited
over 20 community organizations, schools, and events, and collected 1,000 self
portraits.  In
June of 2003 it released its 2002-2003 opening year mosaic. In 2003 participation
increased to over 3,500 self portraits which were united into an all new Buffalo
mosaic along with six other images representing an Architectural Series.
The
exhibit started on display in the conference room at the Arts Council in Buffalo
& Erie County, then The Virginia Weiss Gallery of Empire State College located
on the 3rd Floor of the Market Arcade. Finally-
it moved
into the Buffalo Niagara International Airport where it remained sporadically
throughout 2004. "The success of my endeavors come from God through faith
in Jesus Christ and inspired, focused action" says Nesline, a Christian by
faith. School
Mosaics and More...
Prints of the mosaics are available through retail stores,
fundraising events, directly from the artist or through this website. | 
