Local elementary students fostering love for art with legacy project
WILLARDS, Md. – “We did our own mosaic,” Kindergarten student Skylar Smack said.
Skylar Smack is just one of the students at Willards Elementary whose hands are designing the school’s latest mosaic art project.
Local artist Carla Lescallette is helping get their creative juices flowing while they learn everything from patterns to shapes. “And what makes a good mosaic. That you don’t just kind of throw it all out there and that’s a mosaic. You have to careful piece things and make patterns in order for it to be a cohesive piece that is really something people want to look at,” Lescallette said.
The effort was made possible by grant funding from the Community Foundation of The Eastern Shore.
Kindergarten Teacher Nicole Rittling tells us Willards is an art integrated school and they’re always looking for ways to keep it at the forefront. “We’re giving them those opportunities right here at school because they don’t have them readily available in their immediate community,” Rittling said.
Once the masterpiece is completed, it will be installed in the school’s courtyard alongside other projects.
Staff say it’s a way for students to leave a lasting impact at Willards. “That mosaic will be there, and it will be forever. When they come back to school next year it will be there and the years following. Then, maybe when they’re an adult they can come back and see it,” Rittling said.
With each piece of glass and glue, instructors hope this outlet helps foster a passion in students to keep them creating. “They’re born artists because the moment they’re able to grab a crayon and start scribbling on something that’s what they’re doing,” Lescallette said.
“Everybody has a little artist inside. It’s helping our little ones find out what it is they really like to do and how they can express themselves.”
On top of the school-wide project, each student is also making their own personal piece to further their learning of shapes and more.
Students are expected to finish that shared project by the end of the week, and it will be installed in the courtyard at later this Spring.
