What started out as a simple idea to get involved with the art portion of an annual fundraiser at St. Francis of Assisi catholic school, turned into a special experience that spanned several months’ worth of work and dedication. There were many challenges but an equal amount of rewards as well. The following reflection represents a period of time that began on February 28, 2007 and ended May 19, 2007. It is my hope that I will be able to express my appreciation to the school, the students, and the faculty who supported my ambitious endeavor.From the beginning, I knew that I was going to face several challenges due to the size and importance of the position I had accepted. Officially, I was the Committee chairperson for the ‘kid’s art’ portion of an annual fundraiser called the Taste of St. Francis. Therein laid my first challenge; to come up with an art project that the entire school could be a part of, and actually participate in. The second challenge was to have a finished product that once completed would have the potential for raising a fair amount of money for the school and their desire to remodel all of the bathrooms in the building. After much consideration, I solved these first two issues with the concept of creating mosaic wall hangings, which we deemed “mosaic paintings”. My idea was to have each individual class put together images that would reflect their personal feelings about their parish and school. I knew that I wanted the result to reflect the love that the students have for their school, as well as the spiritual connection that they are all developing. After having the idea approved by Shannon White, the committee chairperson for the entire event, I proceeded with the next set of challenges.
The next stage involved creating a workable schedule that would allow each student, from each grade (k-8) to work on the pieces without interfering with their normal classroom activities. Then of course, there was the issue of creating a design that would reflect the thoughts and feeling that each grade had about their school. I solved both of these by first communicating with the parish manager, Ed Wirth, to appropriate a location to both execute these pieces and safely store them during the process. Then I arranged with Laura Dant, the art teacher, and Paula Watkins, the principle, to take students, six at a time, on a rotating schedule, to the designated parish location to work on the pieces. I also had Mrs. Dant ask the students to give her words that they felt represented their personal feelings about St. Francis of Assisi. I then gathered these words and used them as a catalyst for the creation of the designs for each of the grades.
Once these previous issues were in place I then recruited several people to assist in the implementation of the designs by working with me to help the students put them together. I created a schedule that covered all blocks of time when I personally could not be there to help due to my class schedule. Materials were the next challenge. I needed to choose a medium that all of the children could safely use while still maintaining a certain quality and integrity in the completed pieces. I considered a variety of papers, canvases, broken dishes and glassware, damaged floor tiles etc. In the end, I choose to forgo all of the previous possibilities in favor of pre-cut stained glass tiles and pre-cut and shaped ceramic tiles. I decided to use ¾-inch plywood as the backing and once cut, I began placing tiles directly into these boards into the simple but meaningful designs that I had created.
For example, the fifth graders had said that they thought of the words “peace”, “nature”, “gentle” and “happy when they thought of St. Francis of Assisi, therefore I created a design that featured a butterfly as the central image.
The fourth graders had said the words “love”, “sacrifice”, “Jesus”, and “church” made them think of St. Francis so I created a design that featured a large crucifix at the center and small heart shaped tiles along the border edges. I continued this process until I had a design for each grade (you can see all of the designs by clicking on the Flickr link and viewing my set titled "My Arty Creations").
Then it was on to the next challenge. I had to come up with a way for the children to both be able to recreate the designs that I had made as well as a way for them to safely adhere the tiles in a process that could not be done all at once, due to time restrictions. My solution was to first photograph the design that I had laid out using the tiles they would be using. After I’d taken the photo I then removed the tiles, section by section, and traced the outlines of specific areas directly onto the board they’d be using. This was a painful process, to remove all of the tiles after having spent so much time creating the designs, but it was well worth the results.
As I removed each section, I placed those specific tiles into a specially designated baggie marked with what section it corresponded to on the board. I then placed all pieces into a small plastic bin and put it with the board. I did this with each one of the nine ‘mosaic paintings’ that I made. Now I had to figure out how the students were going to apply the tiles to the board in a safe manner. Having never working in this particular medium, I consulted with Joyce Ogden, an artist and professor at Spalding University, as well as read several mosaic technique books that I checked out of the Louisville Free Public Library. After this research was complete, I decided to use a direct application method. I purchased a water-based tile adhesive and gathered a group of small plastic covered dishes into which I placed small amounts of the adhesive. My plan was to have the students use q-tips to dip into the adhesive and then apply to the back of each individual tile. Once the time came to try this method, it worked wonderfully.
Now that I had the designs, the materials, the method, and all of the approvals in place it was time to get started. I transported all of the materials to the location I had acquired and on Tuesday, April 7th. After a brief and fun explanation, the first students sat down at the table and began working. Each group, from each class was thrilled with the project when they learned what it represented and how they would be putting them together. Working with the students was the highlight of this entire process. Many of them made me laugh and some made me think. I could not be more pleased with the results of their hard work and enthusiasm. These kids were motivated and I am proud to have been able to work with them. In the end, I had each student sign the back of their piece, which really added to the overall idea and feeling of memorabilia.
On May 19th, 2007 the final products were displayed and ready for sale. The silent bidding started at 7:00 p.m. and seemed to be a little slow, but by 9:30 (fifteen minutes before the close of bidding) the bidders were going crazy. At the close, the pieces had brought around $4,100 dollars! But, I was then approached by one of the bidders who did not win the piece they were after, and was asked to create one more and he would pay 850.00 dollars for it. Of course, I agreed, and arranged to do one more piece with the kindergarteners, which was finished on May 29th. All combined these ten pieces brought in nearly $5,000 for the school. This was a very rewarding and positive experience and I now have a special connection with the students who are already talking about next years art pieces. I guess we will have to wait and see if I can manage to do this again, but if the time allows I wouldn’t miss it. (*_*)
