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Tree of Life and Learning
A Pair of New Mosaics Enlivens
Chase Street Elementary
S omething remarkable lias come to life at Chase Street
Elementary School. On the exterior of the building,
amid the school's "Art Garden," now exist two peculiar
trees. Non-organic, yet very much alive, the trees are
rendered in two mosaic creations inspired by the colorful imag
inations of students from Chase Street's fifth-grade class.
The two mosaics portray day and night interpretations of
the "tree of life," an ancient symbol diversely depicted among
many cultures throughout history to illustrate the relationships
among all living things. With the help of local artist Krysia
Haag and art teacher Krista Dean, the students created their
own, original renditions of the ubiquitous symbol.
"We live in a world where humanity is so often divided by
differences, and this has done [us] few favors," says Haag, who
installed her first public mosaic at the Daily Groceries Co-op on
Prince Avenue last February. "The 'tree of life' is a great teach
ing tool to expose children to [because it] symbolizes unity,
balance and growth."
project in her studio. There, she handled the more advanced
aspects of the project including making the substrate, filling in
the details, grouting and assembling the individual elements,
or tesserae, into the design. Most of the students have yet to
see the finished products, as they were installed on June 14,
after the end of the school year. Haag and Dean say they are
anxious to see the students' reactions when they return to
school in the fall.
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Artist Krysia Haag puts the finishing touches on one of the "Tree of Life" mosaics she helped create
with fifth-graders at Chase Street Elementary.
The project took shape when Dean approached mosaic
maverick Haag with the idea of working with her students as a
guest artist
"I think a lot of what early art education should be about
is exposure to different methods, forms and ideas," says Dean.
'Krysia has this incredible passion and enthusiasm for art I
wanted my students to feed off qf her enthusiasm and also to
have the opportunity to work with a local artist.'
To kick off the project funded by a $1,000 grant from the
Chase St P.T.O., Dean gave her two fifth-grade classes a brief
introduction to the concept of mosaics and the history of
the "tree of life." The introduction involved a visit to see the
mosaic local artist Cecilia Villaveces has installed in the walk
way in front of her home, as well as a trip to the nearby Daily
Groceries to see Haag's mural. From there, the students were
encouraged to draw their own versions of the tree: one class
was assigned the "Day" tree while the other worked on the
'Night* rendition.
Haag then drew ideas from the students' depictions and
wove them together to create blueprints for the two mosaics.
The students spent a total of six weeks on the project crafting
ceramic creatures to adorn the creations. Two students even
volunteered to completely take over the task of dear glazing
and firing all of the ceramic pieces. To deal with the inevitable
disappointments associated with the creation of artworks.
Dean invented the "Garden of Broken Things," a sort of ceramic
graveyard in which students could take comfort in laying their
fallen pieces to rest It has been well used during this project
Due to the limited amount of available class time, Haag vol
unteered countless hours of he. own effort into completing the
first glance it is impossible to take in every indi
vidual detail of the intricate mosaics. The grinning
"Day" tree swarms with critters and is pregnant
with fruit and vegetables. All of its branches morph into
human hands grasping for these edible treasures, all of which
receive their nourishment from the ventricles of a pulsing heart
located in the core of the tree.
In contrast, the ornate 'Night' tree features a medley
of different animal heads, including a lion, pig, shark, and
elephant, springing from the tips of
the branches. Meanwhile, a trio of
squirrels break it down at an exclu
sive dance party held in the cavity
of the tree (an artful interpretation,
perhaps, of Athens' underground
music venue, the Secret Squirrel?
See it on this issue's cover).
Ultimately, Haag says she was
impressed and inspired by the stu
dents' inventive spirit. Dean, who
has taught art at the school for nine
years, says she loves getting to work
with this "collaboration of creative
minds" on a regular basis. "I get to
help students find their voice using
images. New ideas and creations are
being bom in my presence all day,
every day. It's wonderful."
One such "creative mind," is
fifth-grader Tiger lili Villaveces,
granddaughter of Cecilia Villaveces.
Tiger Lili says she most appreciates
the infinite possibilities provided
by mosaic art. "When I'm at my
grandmother's office, she has all
these stones and pieces of clay around. It's really cool that all
of these things can make some kind of tree or animal You just
wouldn't think that they could make anything like that"
A native Athenian, Haag says after five years of working
with mosaics that she likes that the medium makes art more
accessible to those who may not be what she calls 'natural
artists." Yet, Haag says mosaic art has not always received the
respect it deserves. "It's kind of the outcast artfbrm. People
say, This is a craft, not art' but in recent years mosaic has
made headway as a fine artform.'
Haag explains her interest in this particular project as part
of a deep commitment to exposing members of the community
to public art. 'Our society has become so hyper-commercialized
we've lost much of our sense of community, and our public
space has suffered as a result. Public art is a way to bring
inspiration back into a visually impoverished public realm.
Mosaic is an excellent public art medium, allowing for many
possibilities, including community collaporation, and children
are drawn to it'
Dean intends for the mosaics to be the first of a series of
yearly "legacy projects" marking the graduation of each fifth-
grade class. 'Because we are a small school, it is very much
like a family. ITie legacy project allows them to contribute or
give back to the school that has been such a part of them.'
In the end, the work of passionate individuals such as Dean,
Haag and the fifth-grade class of Chase Street Elementary help
make the school just one more embellishing gem in the all-
inclusive mosaic of Athens.
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