A torrent of bustling work over the last trimester by students in Watershed’s Mosaics course yielded a stunning collaborative final project! Weaving together aspects of a collective vision amongst the class’s 13 students - seven of them seniors - a mosaic that reflects a sense of community, the beauty of Colorado’s natural landscape, and the ethos of Watershed School has taken shape. The purpose of the piece is to serve as a welcome to our new campus, as it will live permanently in the main entrance of Watershed’s new home on Spine Rd. in Boulder, standing as a lasting testament to the power of collaboration, creativity, and community.
Guided in part by the Interior Design Committee for Watershed’s new campus, students were inspired by the signature palette of Watershed’s colors, drawn from Colorado’s striking scenery. Throughout the last trimester, the mosaic evolved through stages of trial and error, each misstep leading to deeper insights and a more refined vision within the group.
From its inception, the project was fueled by the generosity of local artisans and parents who donated a vibrant array of glass, infusing the mosaic with a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. The blend of donated materials, balanced with a few specifically selected purchased materials, ensured that the artwork would capture the essence of the students’ vision with a proper range of color.
It became clear that a project of this scale would require hours of work beyond the classroom; members of the after-school Mosaics Club also lent their time and poured their creativity into the project. Because different students took turns managing various sections, a sense of collective ownership and pride was fostered throughout the process.
At the heart of the mosaic’s design is a river, a symbol of genesis and the first step into a watershed. Working through iterations of the design, the richness of Colorado's natural landscape remained the focus, incorporating elements like the Echinacea flower to symbolize resilience and the interconnectedness of nature with the human spirit.
Upon the project’s completion, each student reflected on their journey through their own artist statement, interpreting the overall meaning of the mosaic while celebrating its successes and trials. Said senior Scout, ‘24 about the design in her artist statement, “Rivers flow fast in some places and slow in others, and obstacles like rocks and sticks affect how the river ebbs and flows. Rivers are not sterile, simple, or perfect; they can be wild, unpredictable, and every stretch may be different. A river is a great analogy for the journey of school and growing up. Because growing up and learning is not perfect or straightforward or easy, it is fast, then slow - beautiful and scary.”
With Watershed’s impending move to its new campus this summer, students - and the graduating seniors, in particular - hope that the mosaic will leave a lasting mark of this transition into a new era.
