Tile Mosaics at Alaska Middle School

Hakatai tile was used as part of the Artists in the Schools program at Randy Smith Middle School in Fairbanks, Alaska. Artist Sara Tabbert worked with students to create mosaic pieces that could be permanently mounted in the interior of the school building.

"Students were given the task of working on an image from their natural surroundings as a cut paper mosaic. I introduced them to the work of designer and artist Charley Harper as a model for how to simplify forms from nature and make interesting compositions that we could translate into larger designs. The students then voted for six images to reproduce in mosaic tile - two images were done as 4' squares, and then we combined three bird images in a long narrow 2'x8' piece to go above a doorway," Sara says. "Kids did the design, cut the tiles, made most of the color choices, glued everything in place, and helped with the grouting. Everyone worked on all the pieces, and it was great to see the excitement build as the pieces came together. Much fun was had by all."

Visit saratabbert.com to see more of Sara's work.