Rocky Mountain Elementary School has completed a stunning hand-crafted mosaic art mural, that will be unveiled to the public on Apr. 1.
Students from kindergarten to grade six partnered with Elkford glass artist Katherine Russell to create mosaic art for the school's hallways. Together, they created a work of art from 26,000 pieces of glass.
The project was completed throughout the winter. Students brainstormed and contributed ideas based on science themes they learned in school. Russell helped them with assembly by cutting glass tesserae and gluing the colourful pieces into place.
The finished work is an impressive mural of art that captures the intricacy of planets, shooting stars, states of matter, phases of the moon, fossils, fish and scientific equipment like beakers.
Spearheaded by teacher Victoria Vander Schee, the project was funded locally by the school and Elk Valley Thrift Shop Society, and also provincially by the government, B.C Arts Council and the Artist in the Classroom program. The latter supports art projects in B.C that have strong artistic impact and curricular connections.
The mosaic will be revealed to the public on Apr. 1 at a special ceremony at 1 p.m. The community is invited to attend and celebrate the creative talents of the students.
To view the various stages of the project, visit Russell's Instagram page @katherinerussellglass or Facebook: KatherineRussellGlassArt.
Provincial grant intakes for school art projects are held bi-annually in May and November. Visit artstarts.com/grants to learn how to apply.
