Articles
THE ARTS - Sue Stockman
By Judy
Colbert
September 10, 2010
Taste of the Bay
Mosaics are Firing Up
Pupils
Sue Stockman is
understandably
pleased when she views a mosaic mural she and
woodworker Bobby
Malzone have just finished installing, such as the
recently
hung 6-foot by 30-foot piece adorning the exterior of
the
Eastport Elementary School.
It's colorful,
decorative,
reflects the area around the school's location, and
perhaps
most important, the students helped create it.
For these St. Michael's artists, what's more pleasing is hearing the students talk about their experience.
"I had fun. I learned that you can make anything you just have to believe in yourself," said Daniel from Riviera Beach Elementary, where the 3-foot by 10-foot mural he worked on, incorporating indigenous plants and animals, including bull nose ray, rockfish, jellyfish, heron and blue crab hangs.
"I learned that working with a group was fun," said
fellow
classmate Haley
Victoria, another student, said, "I liked when we
had to
put the cement down and really use our muscles to use
the rag
and get the stuff off the glass and tiles. Finally
after all
that hard work, I think it looks really great."
Hailey added, "I loved what we did and I want to
do it
again. I loved how we made the cattails, the turtles,
and
everything else. The most fun was when Bobby sang
songs to us,
everybody was happy and not mad at anybody. People had
fun
gluing and breaking and enjoying themselves. I had so
much fun
with Sue, she was the one that wanted to talk about
the day
and listen to everyone talk their talk. I really had
fun with
all the music and dancing. I love the mosaic."
Many of these mosaic school projects are funded
through the
state AiE (Artists-in-Residence Program) that allows
students,
faculty, and artists the opportunity to participate in
a
collaborative creative program. Other funds may come
from a
county arts program, Title I funding, or local
fund-raising.
An AiE project may last for an intensive week or be
spread out
over a longer period of time. It might be performance, puppetry, theater, playwriting, architecture,
ceramics, fiber
art, photography, sculpture, music, poetry, or other
creations.
The students, faculty, and artists participate in
the
collaborative creative program, from idea submission
(from
drawing contests to discussions) to design to material collection (in the case of a mural project, glass,
plates and
dishes, bottles, and other elements) to
installation.
"The students bring in the broken pieces and glue
them into
place, giving them ownership," says Stockman. By
using found
objects, they learn the value of recycling materials
and
environmental awareness. The completed piece is a
visual
reminder and conveys the students' pride.
"Students are
grouped together to create an element and then the
elements
are joined. The emphasis," says Stockman, "is on
teamwork and
the shared pride that results in creating a large
impressive
piece of artwork."
"Almost every child knows which piece or pieces he or she applied to the mosaic and proudly shows where it is in the mural," says Lynne Evans, Eastport's principal.
"Bobby," Stockman said, "has natural talent
to connect to
kids and he brings in the element of music with his
guitar and
some of the children work on songs about what we were
creating. They sing songs while working on the mosaic,
adding
another dimension," to projects that she hasn't
been able to
include before.
As the older students are taught to use and are trusted with professional tools and materials that could be considered risky, they develop pride knowing that those supervising have confidence in them to use these items correctly.
"Everyone
treats everyone with respect and kindness," says
Stockman,
"and they know they have to be safe. Rarely does
anyone have
to be reprimanded."
Stockman has worked on seven local mural projects this year. Her, and the students' work can be seen at St. Michael's High, St. Michael's elementary, Chapel District elementary, Eastport, Riviera Beach, Hillcrest and the Annapolis Area Christian School.