Carmel Magazine

Monterey County's Prolific Artist Unveiled 106-109 Jo Mora_Layout 10/26/13 10:53 AM Page 2 Special Wor ks by Jo Mora on Display This Holiday Photo: Lewis Josselyn Photo/California Views BY RENEE BRINCKS C Jo Mora's wide-ranging interests are reflected in the variety of his artistic creations—from pen-and-ink drawings to a bronze plaque commemorating the Piute Indian guide, Nasjah Begay, who brought visitors to Rainbow Bridge. armel drivers pass the statue at Camino Del Monte and Alta daily, often without recognizing its connection to some of Monterey County's most storied structures, sculptures and works of art. Joseph Jacinto "Jo" Mora creat- ed the oak shrine to Father Junipero Serra, who established nine California missions, at the request of Pebble Beach Company Founder Samuel F.B. Morse in 1922. Two years later, Mora's now celebrated Serra monument was unveiled at the Carmel Mission. Peter Hiller, an All Saints' Episcopal Day School art teacher and collection curator for the Jo Mora Trust, has promoted that sculpture, and the artist's other illustrations, paintings, books and maps, for 17 years. He's especially excited about a pair of rare Mora holiday murals headlining a Sunset Center event this December. "It's important for people to have a sense of this artist who lived in the community where they live, and whose work they see on a regular basis," Hiller says. The Uruguayan-born Mora moved to the United States as a child. Before making his way to the Monterey Peninsula, he studied art and worked as a newspaper illustrator in Boston. His editors sent him to sketch developing news stories, and those drawings accompanied articles in the days before photography was standard. As Mora strengthened his graphics skills, he also created three-dimensional works with his father, a sculptor. C ARMEL M AG A Z I N E • H O L I D AY 2013 107

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