100 DOWN, and How many more to go?

One hundred. That is how many of the 120+ tiles for the Bee Garden Mural are completed as of this posting!

It has been a while since I last updated on this project, and as we are nearing the end of the academic year, it only seems fitting to revisit what has been accomplished in the last five months.

A group of ASD teachers and staff kicked us off in October as the first members of our community to contribute- creating their scarlet pimpernel tiles; and that was just the beginning! The aim is to have full community representation, and for our large school this means elementary, middle, and high school students, teachers, staff, and parents. Over the last few months I, along with my colleague Sandy Carden, have has the opportunity to run workshops, and collaborate with teachers in other divisions to create tiles for different elements in the mural, and we have nearly tackled all community areas that we set out to include (with a few more workshops in the upcoming month)!


Year 2

Following the teacher tiles, and early middle school contributions, it was time for elementary to leave their mark!

Talking through the best possible approach with the elementary art teachers who would lead this, it was decided that the Year 2 students would contribute as a whole class, as they work closely in bee garden and study pollinators as a regular part of their curriculum.

The art teachers led the ceramics lesson with their classes in December, focusing on the construction of mini hexagons which would then be attached to the larger hexagons featured in the mural. The Year 2 tiles showcase both bee or floral inspired design. With 100+ students in Year 2 this was a fantastic idea to make this project accessible to a whole grade-level ,and produced some lovely ti thanks to Anna Griffith for conceptualizing this.

A few of many charming little bees that adorn the large hexagonal tiles.

Once we had the elementary tiles completed, the next step was to combine them with the larger hexagonal tiles for a unified design. For this, high school students enrolled in the CDI: 3D (Ceramics and Sculpture) course were on task. Nearing the end of the semester, these students were well versed in clay, and were asked to work collaboratively to design the tiles with effective composition in mind, and the intention to highlight and celebrate the Year 2 tiles.

This simple, but effective tile shows a sweet bee flying amongst the flowers.

High School

As the first semester came to a close, high school students continued to tackle more areas of the mural.

Following the closure of the musical, Stagecraft students typically engage in community focused, and public art projects, which timed perfectly with the tiles being made in the CDI class. Prior to the winter break, Stagecraft students spent a few classes designing, and creating tiles that would become the leaf elements for the scarlet pimpernel flowers created by the faculty in October. A few students opted to construct more hexagonal tiles, and even students in other CDI classes (Photography and 2D) joined us in creating our first big bee upon completion of their coursework.

One of three “big bees” that will be featured in the final design drying along side some hexagon pieces.

Design Concept & Scale

Not all tiles are densely packed with attached elements- some exist in textural simplicity.

The patterned tile on the right effectively compliments the honeypot tile in which it transitions, and helps to visually balance this area.

Senior Leadership & Parents

Most recently in March we held two sessions on back-to-back Fridays for our senior leadership team, and parents respectively. The parent session was actually set for February, but a mystery virus knocked me out for a few days, and we had to postpone. Thankfully in the rescheduling most parents who signed up were still able to make it, and we spent a good three hours on a Friday afternoon creating some absolutely stunning tiles!

The parents did not have an easy task, as they were tackling the odd-shaped, odd-cut pieces from the upper righthand side of the design- the ploughman’s spikenard. (As a side note, all of the plants featured in the mural are native to, and found in the UAE: scarlet pimpernel, ploughman’s spikenard, and giant milkweed.) The parents handled it beautifully, and brought in elements (and insects) that we had not yet seen in any of the previous tiles (hello, ladybugs!).

Texture was the word of the day with these tiles. I absolutely adore the variety of texture, and pattern.

While parents tackled the spikenard, the leadership team brought us back to the beginning as they worked on the partner flower for the scarlet pimpernel from October. Working collaboratively in groups of two to three, the leadership team focused on petals from the the flower featured on the right, and created tiles that were reflections on nature, our school community and cultural contexts.

The following week, students in the current CDI 3D class worked on the leaves to accompany their flower- with this section of the mural now completed in its construction.

December 2023

March 2024

Nestled amongst the butterflies, we have our only tile to mark the year of completion for this project!

What’s coming next?

Middle school will be tackling another section of the hexagon tiles- led by their art teacher, Morgan Krajczar. Some students started on their tiles prior to their annual Week Without Walls trip, and now with middle school back on campus, they will be wrapping up soon. We are in communication with admin regarding workshops and opportunities for our non-teaching staff (facilities, security, etc…), and are exploring some options for our departing students to leave their mark on campus as part of their transition out of ASD.

Tiles are drying, firing, and finished with glaze on a weekly rotation.

We are not too far off from the end here, and are on a good track to mount and reveal the mural in May- just in time for World Bee Day!