The mosaic project continues

So it is the weekend and I'm a little tired. All week I struggled with laryngitis, just when I had started a big project with a collaborating artist in one of my middle school art classes. But the show must go on! It is way easier to go to work a bit under the weather than to call in sick, re-schedule the artist, find and plan for a sub.

Anyway, I was really eager to get into this project, a glass mosaic with 7th graders. I had hoped they would buy into my idea of a rather abstract theme, depicting a river with salmon; however they wanted to do an ocean theme. I had to let go of my (superior) idea, but was rewarded with their (huge) enthusiasm for their own theme.

First I asked for design ideas, and gave them a grid with 30 squares on it, one for each student.

They came up with some great ideas. It was fun to see them struggle with the concept of fairness here: shouldn't every square have its own fish?


After school one day I borrowed ideas from as many drawings as I could and transferred them to the squares of mdf board that we would be using.



They painted their squares with acrylic paints. That's so if we don't have enough glass of the right color, we can use clear glass, and the paint will show through. (Genius idea, thank you.)



See, because we don't have enough blue glass to cover the area we slip in a clear piece here and there.



They used WeldBond glue to apply the glass. It dries clear and is SO strong.


Soon the whole thing will be covered with glass pieces and it will be time to grout it. Can't wait! After it is grouted I wonder if we'll still be able to tell what it is...