Weathering several cuts and scrapes, 94 students created a piece of art last week that will be displayed in their school long after they graduate.
A four-panel mosaic, depicting the Sunshine Coast’s environment was created by École du Pacifique students, assisted by Quebec-based artist, Mathieu Bergeron.
Mélanie Vallières, principal at École du Pacifique said that the students loved the project and that it was great to see them engaged the whole week.
The mosaic was officially unveiled at the school library on April 12, where more than 60 students, staff and parents attended and watched a video highlighting the different steps of the project.
Guests were greeted with bags of popcorn, donated by Home Hardware in Gibsons, much to the students' delight.
Ninety-four students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 participated in the project, creating panels that depicted their environment. The drawings were then sent to Bergeron in Quebec, who used them to design the mosaic.
When Bergeron arrived on the Coast, he went from class to class explaining how the process would work, and assisting students with the project, cutting out tiles and gluing them in the correct places.
When it came time to assemble the mosaics, Vallières said the school tried to combine younger and older students' work, some parents also got to come and help out too.
The students created four panels, which will be hung in the school, where they will stay for a long time, said Vallières.
The mosaic’s four panels depict wildlife on both sea and land, as well as mountains, insects and people, strung together by vibrant colours on tiles of every shape and size.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
