JOHN PRATT MOSAIC HOUSE

The John Pratt Mosaic House is a folk art treasure owned and maintained by Creative 360. It is located just outside Midland, Michigan at 102 East Isabella Road.

As a boy in Midland, John Pratt showed a flair for the arts. He took ballet lessons, spent hours dancing and often performed in shows. While in high school, he worked at a local flower shop where he learned the art of floral design.

After graduating from Midland High School in 1956, he moved to New York City, where he designed window displays at Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 1962 he won a trip to Europe for his mosaic designs.

John later opened an antique shop in Manhattan, where he sold Tiffany lamps. His life was going just as he had planned. But his happiness was short-lived. Suffering from what would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia, he slowly lost touch with reality. Inner voices began to speak to him. He tried to deny their existence but after a few years, they took control. He tried to find ways to cope as the illness progressed. At one point, the voices told him not to speak for two years. During that time he learned and used pantomime to communicate with others. After learning of his condition, his parents traveled to New York and brought him home. He spent the next 20 years in and out of mental health institutions.

Mental illness dimmed his creative brilliance for many years. But eventually, with the right medication and fueled by determination to survive, he began to look for ways to put his life back together.

In the process, John discovered that the exterior walls of his house provided an ideal canvas. He collected broken glass to use as mosaic tiles in the intricate murals that decorate his home's facade, each design telling a story about beauty or confusion or faith. John Pratt died in 1997.

"My life was shattered,"' he said in explanation of the symbolism of his mosaics. "And I have spent all these years piecing it back together. Now all I see is beauty."

One of the many designs he created is a colorful butterfly, another a geometric maze. A tall wisteria tree stretches to the roof of the house, its glass flowers dangling over the window frame. A large cross on top of a Jewish star representing tolerance fills another space and, on another, Jesus Christ carries a black sheep.

In 2007, Girl Scouts Michelle Leppek, a Creative Spirit Center class participant since childhood, and Andrea Ross, of Troop No. 50331 in Midland, created a mosaic signpost for the entrance to the John Pratt Mosaic House and added landscaping.  With the assistance of advisor Jan List, they conducted a creativity workshop at the site for younger Girl Scouts, educating them about the life of John Pratt.  In 2009, Michelle received the highest honor in Girl Scouting, the Girl Scout Gold Award, in a March 15 ceremony in Saginaw.  The award is given to acknowledge outstanding dedication to community service.

Group tours of the John Pratt Mosaic House are available. Fee per person: $8.00 for groups of 5 - 24. For groups of 25+, fee is $5.00 per person. For an additional $3.00 per person, a mosaic craft project is included in the tour. To tour the John Pratt Mosaic House, contact us.