THE EAGLE HILL SCHOOL CULTURAL CENTER, HARDWICK MA
Stair Hall Mosaic
Handmade low-fire ceramics, ceramic tile, colored grout
24 feet high x 14 feet long

This independent high school in the hills of western Massachusetts invited me to work with the students to create a major mosaic for their new cultural center. This forest mosaic is two stories high, on a wall right next to the main stair in the theater lobby. Students created handmade ceramic tiles for the tree trunks and branches. Commercial ceramic tile shards were shaped by the students using tile nippers to create thousands of colored leaves and pine needles. This image of a New England forest transforming from the dark shadows of the lower forest upwards into a glowing backlit canopy reflects the community's aspirations for growth and transformation.