25th Anniversary Mosaic Project
Merenda proposed that we assemble four separate mosaic pieces, each composed of tiles created by our student body. She envisioned tall, vertical panels, each incorporating the underground realm, the earthly realm and the heavenly realm, and showing how they are all interconnected.
This parallels Waldorf education, which emphasizes the connections between academic subjects, practical skills, and nature. Waldorf education also deeply believes in the importance of environmental stewardship and being in harmony with the earth, which dovetailed perfectly with Merenda’s vision. Her inspiration for the project was that all of our students work together to create the fabric of our school community, just as the different realms are all connected and woven together on our Earth.
The end result was truly more spectacular than we could have imagined! There was a special presentation to unveil the work at our 2022 May Faire, complete with a dedication song from our 3rd graders. It was such a special moment, gathering with our community, and reflecting on the past 25 years.
Our heartfelt thank you to Merenda for her work with our students on this beautiful, collaborative project. The current and future families of RWS will all enjoy these pieces of art for years to come.
Commemorating 25 Years of Waldorf Education in Richmond, VA
This year, we at Richmond Waldorf School have been celebrating the 25th Anniversary of our wonderful school’s inception. What an achievement!
We searched to find ways big and small to honor this important milestone in our school’s history, and had hopes of working with a local artist on a collaborative project that our students could all get involved in to mark the occasion. Lucky for us, we have an incredibly talented mosaic artist, Merenda Cecelia, within our parent community, who jumped at the chance to help us make this idea a reality!
Merenda met with each of our classes in small groups, gave a short tutorial on working with clay, and gave them their task for the collaborative project. Our youngest students were tasked with creating roots and worms to make up the underground realm, the 1st through 4th graders created flora and fauna that would make up the earthly realm, and our 5th through 8th graders had the opportunity to design objects they associated with the heavenly realm.
Once the pieces were created, off they went to Merenda’s studio to be fired. They were then returned to campus where each of our classes got to choose glazing colors and glaze their class’s pieces. Then, back to the studio for their final firing!
Merenda spent several weeks carefully placing the pieces together onto the four panels. The finished pieces were installed on the front of our campus, along with uplights to really make them shine.
