Keheley Mosaic Project to Continue

Keheley Elementary School is beautifying the school’s main entrance this month by adorning its front columns with a colorful mosaic. Parents, volunteers, and staff members will install the mosaic on May 18, and 19, 2013 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

“Bringing this project to Keheley has really helped our student body understand the importance of arts in our community,” Principal Liz Jackson said. “From start to finish the students have learned some very valuable skills in relation to the arts.”

“For the past three years Liz Jackson, [teacher] Harriet Denny, and I have been brainstorming the possibility of covering the columns that serve as Keheley Elementary School’s entrance with mosaic tiles,” said Renee Theriot, art teacher.

“With the help of local mosaic artist and designer Donna Pinter, and contributions from students, faculty members, parents, and local businesses, we will bring our vision to life this month.”

Theriot said that Keheley faculty leaders were initially unsure of how to get the project off the ground because they did not know anyone who had attempted such a big project.

But after attending a teacher institute at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta during the summer of 2012, a presenter named Reginald Adams provided Theriot with much-needed information on the logistics involved.

“Reginald Adams is head of The Museum of Cultural Arts in Houston, and he makes mosaics with schools and communities in tougher neighborhoods,” Theriot said. “At the High Museum, he talked about the process and how successful these mosaics are at changing the image of a neighborhood or park and bringing people together.  I subsequently contacted Reginald and got some very valuable information from him.”

After considering various options for initiating the effort, Theriot decided that working with local artist Donna Pinter made the most sense. Pinter eagerly accepted the challenge.

“As an artist I have searched for years for a way to bring my art outside and into the community,” Pinter said. “This project is truly the pinnacle of what I had hoped to do. Thank you for the opportunity to give this very special school, its parents, students, and staff a forever lasting memory for each of them.”

When she first visited Keheley, Pinter said she was struck by the stark difference between the building’s outer appearance and the vibrant colors and enthusiasm on the inside. So she resolved “to bring the joy, love, pride, and playfulness of the inside of the school to its exterior.”

To accomplish this goal, Pinter envisioned a presentation in which:

• The first set of columns represents the garden – the growth and blooming that happens in the early childhood school experience.”
• “The next two columns represent the helping hands of the teachers as well as the growing hand of the children.” To achieve this goal, students made their hand prints in clay, which will be added to the columns.
• “The third set of columns is composed of falling leaves. To me, trees represent wisdom. The leaves are like the record keepers of the seasons. These columns will represent the knowledge gained by the student that will go with them through their own lives.”

Several local businesses stepped forward to help make the project possible. For example, The Home Depot Store on Sandy Plains Road contributed a variety of materials to the project. The mosaics were also funded in part by a donation from the Northeast Cobb Business Association, Marietta Fish Market and AJ Glass.

With everyone’s help, Theriot is confident that volunteers will have the project complete before the end of this school year.

“We plan to finish the work by the end of May so our students can see it finished before they leave for the summer,” she said. “Our entry way is going to be a work of art. I hope other schools will catch the bug and try something like this in the years to come.”

“I cannot wait to see the students’ faces light up when the work is done,” she added. “I know our students will feel such a sense of accomplishment when they enter the building next school year.”