Session: Young Women’s Design + Building Institute, Summer 2023
Artists: 30 students
Materials: 12×12″ wooden canvases, weld bond glue, vitreous 3/4″ glass mosaic tiles, mosaic grout, flexible rubber spatula, large flat sponge
Description: Our YWDBI students tackled a new medium this summer: mosaics! Looking to artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Claude Monet for inspiration, our students created colorful designs that engendered a sense of calm. Instructors Maya Vilaplana, HyeYoon Song, Bethany Kaylor and Lex Lesley framed the project as a way of thinking about self care: when we’re stressed or triggered, what sort of imagery helps bring us back to stability? Our students sorted through 70 lbs of vitreous glass mosaic tiles to choose their color palettes, then went about gluing each tile onto the wooden canvas, leaving 1/8″ between tiles for grout. After the grout dried, our students gently wiped off the excess with a damp sponge.