A Collaborative Mosaic for Watershed’s New Campus

A big move calls for a big student project. When students thought about how they wanted to make their initial mark on Watershed’s new campus, the 23/24 Upcycled Mosaics class had an idea: weave together aspects of a collective vision that would reflect a sense of community, the beauty of Colorado’s natural landscape, and the ethos of Watershed School as whole. The purpose of the piece was to not only serve as a welcome to our new campus (as it now lives in Watershed’s main entrance), but also to act as a lasting testament to the value of collaboration, commitment to a shared goal, creative problem-solving, and a sense of community in the students’ work.

STUDENT REFLECTION

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 one senior 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.”

McCall Sherman ‘25 reflected, “Mosaicking was an amazing translation for this human collaboration as it is literally a bunch of unique pieces coming together. Our mosaic’s spirit is basically a mosaic of each member’s mind!”

Luke Zuelsdorff ‘27 added, “The flow of the water represents how unique Watershed’s style of learning is and how what you learn here ‘flows’ into your knowledge later in life.”