As has been the case at most schools, the students at Hampton’s Wyland Elementary have been separated by COVID-19 and their shifting and different models of instruction -— in person, remote, hybrid.
But all their different pieces have come together in an art project -— a “quilt” made of 300-plus 4-by-4-inch ceramic tiles.
Students in each grade there, kindergarten through fifth, focused on a different element of art when designing their individual tiles: color, line, shape, form, texture and and space.
They started the project in September and finished it in December. A quilt was chosen “because of its tendency to be constructed by various people and from unique patterns, materials and designs," explains their art teacher Caitlin Wismer.
“This quilt symbolizes students’ strength, compassion and bond held with one another through this challenging school year,” she says. “Regardless of the learning plans in action, students are still there for one another and together can accomplish anything.”
Students got to pick their own subject matter for the tiles, but they all decorated them with the same “wax resist” method using crayons and then dipping the tiles into dye.
“They’re super proud of them,” says their teacher, who knew that she wanted to publicly display them.
The quilt was pieced together for the first time this past weekend, as part of an exhibition of North Hills students’ art at the Block Northway mall in Ross. The pieces are heavy, so they were fit together on tables in upper level’s south corridor. Shoppers can see it and other art there through Feb. 18. Ms. Wismer is still pondering what to do with the tiles after that.
Block Northway’s Director of Experience Jamie Pavlot says that additional student artwork is on display from Hampton as well as North Hills and North Allegheny school districts and Holy Cross and Blessed Trinity academies. The work also will be featured this year on the Block Northway’s website at https://theblocknorthway.com.
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: January 17, 2021, 5:30 a.m.
