Mosaic is uniquely accessible to many individuals, and hands-on learning is one of the best ways to communicate concepts. I've worked with classes ranging from kindergarten through high school to learn through mosaic. Students also gain experience with creative expression, eye-hand coordination and spacial concepts. Collaboration and teamwork create a healthy environment as well.
View the making of school projects on Flickr.
The original “Mother Tree” was developed by the school’s namesake, Luther Burbank. The renowned botanist and hortoculturalist grafted many different fruits onto one tree. The mosaic was created by the community and several talented mosaic artists, as well as the students and parents of Luther Burbank Elementary School, using mostly recycled materials we collected specifically for the project. Size: nine feet by five feet. Thank you to my partners on this project, Luz Mack, Bea Jones and Belinda Morgan.
Created by the community, parents and students of Luther Burbank Elementary. This eight foot by three foot mosaic is installed at the school’s front desk, welcoming students daily. In addition to hundreds of fruits and vegetables, Luther Burbank developed what he called the perfect flower: the Shasta Daisy.
These two nine-panel murals were created with the fourth-grade students of Mrs. Wilson’s class at Grant Elementary in Long Beach, CA, as a part of their monthly Art Days. The murals tied in with their studies in California icons and ocean eco-systems. Thank you to my partner on this project, Luz Mack.
Mr. Bearns’ 4th Grade class created these mosaic panels. Students drew various California landscapes, and three of the crayon drawings were chosen to interpret into mosaic. In making this project, the class learned about recycled art as well as the art of mosaic. We used broken plates, vitreous tile, and tumbled stained glass.
I worked with teacher Cindy Wechsung and the 4th and 5th Grade Students at Alvarado Elementary School in Signal Hill, California to create two series of six 2 x 2 ft panels depicting events and icons of California and American History. The panel topics are from students’ brainstorming sessions. Luz Mack-Durini, my friend and fellow artist helped in the preparation and grouting of this great project. Intern Zoe also assisted.
I taught mosaic classes through the WRAP after school program at Renaissance High School for the Arts, Long Beach CA. Students worked on individual projects, and we created one group project each semester. Shown is a four-panel group project.
Students in the after school program in Santa Fe Springs participated in creating 3 large garden pots, each to be displayed at different parks, as well as creating a series of individual butterflies they could take home. Students made both California Native and whimiscal butterflies.
Thank you to my partner, Bea Jones, on this project.
