The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
‘Faces of GJW’ mosaic revealed in Lorain
The mosaic features 13 modified head shots of students and celebrates diversity in the school district.
Not all student images appear on a mosaic revealed last week at General Johnnie Wilson Middle School.
But organizers hope students see themselves in the three-foot-high-by10-foot-wide mosaic created from about 6,000 tiles made from recycled glass, said George Woideck, a ceramic artist from Shaker Heights who served as a resident artist from Ohio Arts Council for almost six months at the school at 2700 Washington Ave. in Lorain.
The mosaic, “Faces of GJW,” features 13 modified head shots of students and celebrates diversity in the Lorain City School District.
Fourteen-year-old eighth-grade student Emmone Cheers said the lunchroom included a photo shoot one day for the project.
“We had a photo booth for the people who volunteered to take pictures,” Emmone said. “Some were one at a time, but there were group photos.”
In the tech room, Woideck sketched the faces onto a cement backerboard using digital technology, Emmone said, to provide a basic outline of students.
Students could see through the tiles, she said, and Woideck chipped tiles to help them fit.
“They all came together as one picture,” she said. “Students can remember our school as a fun place and not boring.”
Fourteen-year-old eighth-grader Alexandria Church helped place the tiles on the board even though she does not consider herself an artist.
“I think it was nice that (Woideck) took the time to do this for us,” Alexandria said, “because it represents the school.”
Another eighth-grade student, Sincere Garcia, 14, appreciated the project’s effect on everyone.
“I think it’s like a good way to represent our school,” Sincere said. “It’s good. It’s not something bad.
“And it brought the students together. It was them together, and everybody had an opportunity to take a picture. It looks diverse. To me, it’s diversity.”
Principal Bryan Hilko said about 80 people — including representatives from every home room — attended the reveal in the cafeteria.
“I see hope,” Hilko said. “I see a collection of who we are at GJW, who represents our students. This is a microcosm of our society as well, of our community.
“You have an inclusive representation of us. It brings joy to me. I think back to when the students were working with George on placing the tiles, the laughing, the smiles.”
This is something that is going to be a fixture in the school, Hilko said.
“As many students come back to visit or attend events, no matter the years they were at GJW, they can see themselves in these pictures,” he said.
Woideck’s artist residency was provided by the
Ohio Arts Council, and the reveal was attended by Executive Director Donna S. Collins and artist programs and percent for art director Ken Emerick.
“I just love the mosaic,” Collins said. “This is the gift that melds math and art and science.”
Woideck said his goal was to involve the art and tech teachers.
While every student could not be in the mosaic, the group selected faces to represent everyone in the school.
“Can kids see themselves in this?” Hilko asked.
During an earlier visit to the school, Collins watched students wrestling with concepts in an art activity when the lightbulb came on, she said.
“It was that ‘Aha’ moment. The kids said, ‘I get this,’” Collins said. “That’s what we want. We want kids to have those ‘Aha’ moments with all of their academics.
“(Ohio Arts Council is) working with 38 schools across the state. We’re honored to work with this school. I love that (Hilko) said, ‘If it’s good for kids, we want it here.’ You don’t see that at each building.”
State test scores do not evaluate the whole educational process, Hilko said.
“If a child is a future artist or musician, test scores aren’t necessarily going to show that,” he said.
Yet, arts availability matters in student engagement and developing thinking skills, Collins said.
“Art isn’t an add-on,” she said. “Arts are essentials. Kids are happier when they have these types of experiences and they’re learning, but they don’t know it.”
Professional artists, once they’re trained to incorporate arts activities with state standards, provide a valuable support to classroom activities, Collins said.
The mosaic evidences personal and building breakthroughs.
“Our goal was to be inclusive,” Woideck said. “But our other goal was to teach a process: To start with an idea and to explore the idea and to do all the steps it takes.
“A lot of people want things to happen instantly, and art doesn’t happen that way. You change as you go along. You adapt.”
On purpose, the students added surprise elements to the mosaic, Woideck said.
“Parents are able to see something our students took from a cement board to this,” Hilko said.
“We had a photo booth for the people who volunteered to take pictures. Some were one at a time, but there were group photos.” — Fourteen-year-old eighth-grade student Emmone Cheers