Swapna Elias is worried about the future of fine arts education. As chair of the fine arts department at McLean High School (MHS) she expects the upcoming budget cuts in the Fairfax County Public Schools to have a direct impact on funding in her department and is concerned about how it will affect enrollment in art classes. "The art department is losing funding and we are trying to get the word out that art is important and kids should take art," Elias said.

One way that the word is getting out is through the MHS National Art Honors Society’s creation of a mosaic mural in the school’s main entrance the week of Nov. 17-21. The theme of the mural is the diversity of the school community.



THE MURAL DESIGN, inspired by "The Tree of Life" painting by Gustav Klimt, was created by guest mosaic artist Lynda Elias. Elias traveled to McLean from her home in Delaware, Ohio, with her assistant Virginia Corwin to work with the students to put together the mural two weeks ago. Lynda Elias is a retired high-school art teacher and Swapna Elias’ mother-in-law. Lynda and Swapna Elias attended a mosaic workshop last summer in Philadelphia taught by Isaiah Zagar, a professional mosaic artist who has done work on some buildings in Philadelphia.

Lynda Elias has since done some other murals in her hometown. "I find boxes of pottery and dishes on my porch [back home in Ohio] because people donate things when they know what you’re doing," she said.

Virginia Corwin is a retired high-school intervention specialist. She handles the details such as collecting, purchasing [from garage sales] and sorting pieces for murals. The mural is composed of broken pieces of china and glass as well as tiles, which the students made showing symbols from cultures all over the world. Corwin explains how, after the tiles and pieces of the mosaic are affixed to the wall, different colors of grouting are put on, left for 15-20 minutes and sloughed off with cloths. Later, she said, "the mosaic is carefully brushed archeologist-style to show the special markings on the tiles."

Work on the mural started at the beginning of the school year as the Honor Society members collected recycled materials. They also considered various designs. The members invited other students to contribute tiles with symbols from their families’ backgrounds and to stop by and help place tiles during construction. The International Cultures United Club funded the purchase of additional materials and the costs of bringing Lynda Elias and Corwin for the week as a way to support multicultural understanding in the school.



THE SCHOOL administration was equally enthusiastic about and supportive of the project. Deborah Jackson, principal at MHS, said, "As the proud principal of such a great school, I am truly excited about the Tree of Life mosaic mural and what it represents …. I am committed to building a school community in which all areas of cultural diversity are valued. We feel diversity enriches educational experiences for our students by affording opportunities to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions that are often the foundation for insensitivity, misunderstanding and conflict. I hope the mural will serve as another vehicle to increase the knowledge and awareness of cultural differences within McLean and the larger community in which we work, play and live together."

Senior Sarah Kollmorgen describes how the students started making tiles for the mosaic at the beginning of the school year: "We take clay tiles and carve or put other pieces of clay onto them. Then we bake them once [in the kiln], glaze them [which is like painting them] and bake them again." Kollmorgen also said there has been a lot of interest among the students in placing tiles. What she enjoyed the most is that "it’s so fun — seeing the whole thing come together is the best."

Another art honor society member, 11th-grader Odette Channell, enjoyed "working with friends. It gives me something to do after school with them." She also said, "I learned some new international symbols I had never seen." Society president Julianna Burt said she really enjoyed working with her teacher and the other adults on the project. "It was exciting doing it with the community. Students stopped to tell us how good the mural is. I like the way the whole school got involved and appreciated it. I also like how all the pieces of the mosaic are made from recycled materials. We want to do other projects in the school and do one big project for the school each year," she said.

Senior Hannah Zegler enjoyed "getting to choose colors and fitting them together. It’s nice that it will be there for a while. You can see what you’ve done if you come back."

What has art teacher Elias enjoyed the most about the project? She said, "I like that every tile is permanent. I enjoy seeing the excitement of the kids and working with them."