PA Turnpike Mosaic Created By Archbishop Carroll Students

RADNOR, PA —By springtime motorists on the Pennsylvania Turnpike exiting at Valley Forge Service Plaza will be treated to a mosaic scene created by Archbishop Carroll High School art students.

The mosaic project is part of an Art Sparks partnership between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to bring art to motorists on turnpike exits across Pennsylvania.

More than 250 students at the parochial high school in Radnor Township, Delaware County, are participating in creating a mosiac to provide art on the turnpike for motorists to enjoy at the Valley Forge Plaza, Tredyffrin Township, Chester County.

The turnpike and council officials got a sneak preview of the project on Friday morning when they stopped by the school to watch the student create the mosaic in art classes taught by Lorraine Carpenter and Tim Magenta.

The visit 9:30 a.m. visit was on "Art Sparks Research and VIP Day," which is part of the program in which students work with an artist and the community to create art reflecting the region.

The mosaic is being created under the direction of Jessica Gorlin Liddell, of Bella Mosaic Art, Mount Airy, who works with school, hospital and other organizations to create mosaics.

The turnpike and council members also helped out in glazing some of the finished tiles that will be part of the mosaic.

The unveiling of the mosaic at the plaza is slated for the spring of 2023. From the tiles, it appears as if they mosiac will be scene from the Revolutionary War.

Among those participating were Mark Compton, CEO of the turnpike commission; Karl Blischke, executive director of the council on the arts; and Pearl Schaffer, CEO of Philadelphia Arts in Education.