“
t was a great way to make
Fox Chapel an original
place and gave students
the ability to put our spin
on the school,” said high school
junior computer art student Micah
Ziff about the major mosaic art
project set to be erected at the
high school later this spring.
exercise based on a surrealist parlor
game. According to ninth grade
art class student Daniel Andrud,
Ms. McLaughlin had folded paper
into four sections. Playing the
“game” the first student drew
a head, then folded down the
section and handed the paper off
to another student whose task was
to draw a midsection of a body
without knowing what the head
looked like. A third student drew
an image of the body down to the
knees before passing the folded
paper to a fourth student to draw an
image of knees to toes.
A large interactive outdoor
sculpture that will become a
permanent installation near the
stadium was designed, made,
Artist-in-residence Laura Jean McLaughlin works with high
and built by students taking art
school art students.
at the high school. Additionally,
students are creating a mural that will adorn the entrance
to the art department. Created under the direction of guest
“It was cool to see how it went together,” Daniel said.
artist‑in‑residence Laura Jean McLaughlin and the high school
Once the drawings were completed, students and staff voted
art teachers, the major art project has been met with enthusiasm
to select their favorites. Ms. McLaughlin then combined the
from the high school’s 400+ art students.
winners to create the designs for each of the 16 panels that will
“Students’ unique designs are the backbone of the artwork,
which give it a great personality and will combine to create an
absorbing interactive piece,” according to art teacher Sarah
Stewart. “They took pride and care in all aspects of the design,
fabrication, and documentation, which will be evident in the
finished work.”
make up mosaic cubes. When installed, the sculpture panels will
rotate independently, creating 256 combinations from the 16
completed mosaic panels.
Students next learned how to use tile nippers, place and glue the
mosaic pieces, and grout the mosaic. Due to space limitations,
only 25 students could work on the project at a time, so art
teachers made up a rotation schedule to ensure that all students
had a chance to work on the mosaics.
Fairly large in scope, virtually every high school student
enrolled in an art class this school year provided input and will
have worked on the major project that was funded by grants
Senior Brooklyn DePellegrini, who has taken classes in
from the 2012 Fox Chapel Area School District Gala Fund, the
computer art, photography, and ceramics at the high school,
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the high school PTO, as
said this is her
well as the high
first experience
Art teacher Sarah Stewart works with students as they glue mosaic tiles on the sculpture panels.
school site-based
working on a
team.
mosaic. “I liked
Ms. McLaughlin,
a professional
ceramicist and
mosaic artist
with a studio
in Pittsburgh,
worked on-site
with the students
four hours a day
for 20 school
days beginning
on October 27.
On the first days,
she met with the
young artists in
a large-group
setting to work
out the initial
designs. Students
played a creativity
gluing all the
pieces down and
seeing it come
together.” She
added, “I want to
see it when it’s all
done.”
Ninth grader
Paige Johnson,
who took a
jewelry class this
year, described
the process as
like looking at
a skeleton and
putting puzzle
pieces together.
She said, “I really
like working
Fox Chapel Area | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 17
FOX C HAP E L ARE A SC HOOL N E WS
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Mosaic Sculpture Designed and Created by Art Students
Fox Chapel Area
ARTWORK TO MAKE BIG STATEMENT
ON HIGH SCHOOL LANDSCAPE