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For the past month, Hills-Beaver Creek High School art students have been talking about “hope” as they complete an art mosaic with second-year instructor Tyler Johnson.
“This is my first year that I decided to have the kids make one,” he said “Last year I had considered it for the spring but then COVID hit. I wanted to make sure we got the project done and on the wall while students were still in-person.”
In March 2020, students across Minnesota finished the 2019-20 school year via computers, as the coronavirus pandemic closed all school buildings.
H-BC School District returned to in-person instruction through social distancing, a stringent cleaning routines and wearing of masks.
The 45 ninth- through 12th-grade students working on the mosaic added elements that signify “hope” as the U.S. moves through the pandemic.
“Students found they found hope when they could stay connected to each other,” Johnson said. “They really wanted to showcase the apps they used that helped them stay connected.”
Students constructed symbols representing Twitter, Instagram and incorporated clouds into the design to signify the importance of cloud-based information when at home for e-learning.
They added their graduation years – ’21, ’22, ’23 and ’24 – to the clouds.
“They felt very fortunate and hopeful that they could continue school in some fashion because of tech companies like Google and Zoom making it possible for use to continue on despite the pandemic,” Johnson said.
Each day in class students were encouraged to talk about what it means to have “hope.” Some students included references to music, which has become a place of refuge for some, as well as athletics, education and agriculture.
“I got more familiar with the classmates — more bonding time with them,” said Emma Kodet. “It was fun to see their creative sides.”
Kodet was one of the seniors in charge of planning and design.
“She has done a lot of glass cutting, placing and gluing,” Johnson said.
Students finished the mosaic last week when Johnson grouted the glass pieces and the student-made objects permanently to the medium density fiberboard.
The finished mosaic will join four other mosaics in the school’s commons area.
“We are hoping the public can see that there were a lot of extenuating circumstances to this year, yet the students put their heads down, persevered, and got done what needs to be done,” Johnson said.
“We hope that in the mirrored glass in the background of the piece viewers will be able to ‘see themselves’ and reflect on what they also experienced in this past year.”