Artists: Student project

In the spring of 2009, M State art instructor Lori Charest invited mosaic artist Annette Hochstein to assist students in creating a glass mosaic.

Students were given basic color suggestions so the completed design would be cohesive, but they were free to add designs within their blocks, and they could choose the shapes and sizes of the glass pieces used. Hochstein also suggested that a flower be included in each of the 16 blocks – they’re sometimes easy to find but sometimes hidden.

As part of the project, students were taught about the concepts of mosaics and the process of creating a colored glass mosaic. They learned about the variety of hand tools needed and how to score and cut glass. Working with different types of glass allowed them to understand some of the physical properties of glass: It is surprisingly strong but, if barely chipped or fractured, any further stress will cause it to break.

After cutting and arranging the pieces of their designs, they learned to adhere the glass to the substrate and, after drying, the squares were grouted with black sanded grout. Students cleaned up the excess grout from the surface of the glass and revealed their vivid designs.

The blocks were then sealed and assembled. Look closely at each square to see a bit of the personalities of the student artists who created this delightful mosaic.

The 14 students who collaborated on the project were Sam Norman, Maria Villagomez Chaves, Ruth Urbano, Claire Parks, Trent Graves, Kayla True, Kenny Iverson, Ali Kopp, Phena Keil, Brinna Skillingstad, Jane Gardner, Kylie Boe and Joe Haukos. Each student created one block except Norman, who created two, and Charest designed the 16th block.