Teaching Portfolio / Student Work
Visiting mosaic artist, Mirtes Zwierzynski, led CHMS students in creating the Media Resource Center 2018 Mosaic Mural. Since the MRC, a place for sharing knowledge and ideas, would be the site for this mural, students created designs using codes and symbols from various systems of communication throughout history. Inspiration for imagery ranged from ancient alphabets, Chinese characters, pictograms, ancient Cuneiform, modern electrical circuit codes, video games, to other signs abstracted down to their most simple geometric shapes. Students in Art, Digital Media, and Design Lab classes, and members of Art Club researched and drew different combinations of symbols. Just as certain signs and codes have evolved and simplified or even changed meaning over time, viewers can make their own connections and interpretations of these symbols passed down and reimagined here in this final mural.
The process of bringing student ideas to life began by translating student drawings onto enlarged layouts on tables in the art room. Students from all classes cut and fitted ceramic tiles intricately together to form vibrantly colored panels. Each mosaic panel was temporarily held together with special tape until it was transported to its final installation site in the MRC.