Though I have not taught children for many years, my past students and fellow mosaic artists continue to do so. Two of them, Nira Portugali and Tova Shafran, are authors of the following reflections on art therapy and teaching with mosaic
Despite my extensive years of study at the Zagreb Art Academy, my own introduction to mosaic art was rather informal and seren- dipitous. Although my training encompassed varied monumental art forms, mosaic was never a part of the curriculum. Nevertheless, I was always drawn to mosaic art and decided to transition to this medium in the 1960s. I began my training quite unceremoniously: with my six-year-old son, a handful of stones, and an introductory manual as my guide. Following the step-by-step instructions, I began my first mosaic, and my young son Giora worked eagerly alongside me. As Giora and I sifted through stones and contemplated their positioning, I was struck by the creativity this medium seemed to inspire in such a young boy. His curiosity and precociousness revealed to me the medium’s great suitability for children. By this time, I was living in Israel, in a beautiful coastal town named Ashkelon, where I still live today. I was the director of the Ashkelon Art Center. Soon after working on my first mosaic with Giora, I decided to incorporate this art form in my classroom at the Center. I was struck by the tremendous enthusiasm and creativity with which my students approached the technique. Indeed, mosaic seemed to draw forth an indelible excitement and imagination in all of my students, a varied constituency ranging in age from kindergarten to high school. Working with these students allowed me to learn the critical nuances that help engage and captivate young artists in the world of mosaic. First and perhaps most importantly, children should be deeply engaged in the process of collecting material for their work. Col- lecting materials from different locales reinforces the lesson that we can make art out of the utilitarian objects in our own environment, rather than relying on industrially generated products purchased in a store. Whether incorporating the remains of a broken teacup or a group of seashells from the local beach, the young artist learns to search for art in the everyday and assume responsibility over the entire creative process. Another technique I find particularly valuable at this stage is having young artists prepare and paint their own ceramic materials for inclusion in the mosaic. Although this requires access to a ceramic studio, it is a wonderful way to achieve indi- vidually creative and beautiful mosaics. The second step of mosaic-making, during which the students contemplate the positioning of their material, is also a highly creative stage. Once my students have their collection of materials ready, I give each one a board to be used as the mosaic’s support. Usually, the young artist immediately begins playing with his material on the board. Indeed, this is a very important stage because it allows for free associations to emerge. A broken piece of china that once functioned as a teacup suddenly acquires a new role in the child’s mosaic – perhaps a bird’s beak, or the roots of a tree. This stage of mosaic-making is highly creative, as each broken item or ceramic object inspires an association with another element of the mosaic, or comes together to form a lovely abstract composition. When the children have finished positioning their material, I offer instructions on how to affix the materials. When I work with young children (ages 5 – 8), any cutting of the material is carried out by the teacher, following the child’s directions. Elder children can be al- lowed to cut light material with a clamping tool, but only high school children should be permitted to work with a hammer and hardy. I have worked diligently to extend this medium to young artists, and in turn, their liberated approach to mosaic has inspired a greater spontaneity in my own technique. Though I have not taught children for many years, my past students and fellow mosaic artists continue to do so. Two of them, Nira Portugali and Tova Shafran, are authors of the following reflections on art therapy and teaching with mosaic.
A longtime arts and crafts teacher with over 36 years of experience in the classroom, I became interested in integrating mosaic into my teaching practice after completing the Spontaneous Mosaic Workshop offered by artist Ilana Shafir. Following the seminar, I began working with the principal of the local school in Ashkelon, Israel to develop a new curriculum of Spontaneous Mosaic, now integrated into the Plastic Arts department. This year, we debuted the new approach within my classroom. The Plastic Arts department includes children between the ages of 12-18, who work for an hour and a half each week on drawing, sculpture, sketching, and now mosaic, in classes of ten or twelve students at a time. We encouraged the students to use a diverse range of materials: broken ceramic tiles from construction sites and stores, colored clay, pebbles, pottery, and shells found on the local seashore. They explored different methods for breaking the materials, organizing the composition, attaching the materials, and putting the finishing touches on their mosaics. They were also taught safety precautions.
To allow students the opportunity to experiment with different kinds of mosaic during the year, we kept personal work surfaces small, enabling the completion of each piece within a reasonable period of time. The first assignment was for students to experiment with different materials at random on rectangular surfaces of different sizes. All of the children, with no exceptions, had a positive experience in the face of this new, spontaneous art form. Through their work, they explored approaches towards patterns, color schemes and contrasts.
The first assignment was for students to experiment with different materials at random on rectangular surfaces of different sizes. All of the children, with no exceptions, had a positive experience in the face of this new, spontaneous art form. Through their work, they explored approaches towards patterns, color schemes and contrasts
For their second project, the students were presented with a subject from nature, but given no preliminary drawing. Each student was asked to plan the picture according to his own taste and abilities, collect the necessary supplies, and create their composition, taking into account the shape, color, and application of material. The work process was long and each week we made small progress, but the measured pace gave students time to think, change, add, or take away materials. Perhaps because their work in other areas of art requires total precision, the students found it difficult to begin a project without some thematic direction. This challenge only increased with age; the older the child, the more difficult they found it to be spontaneous in their artwork. By working with mosaic, the students learned to be more open in their approach to art-making; in the future, I hope to teach how these methods can be applied to other areas of their studies, as well. This work generated by this year’s class was shown within the final exhibition of the Plastic Arts department, as well as throughout the school building, generating much excitement among the student body. Already, additional students have expressed interest in learning this new field, with one class proposing the creation of a mosaic wall as final project for their tenure at the school.
Working in art therapy for children, adolescents and adults, I decided to offer my younger students the opportunity to try the medium of mosaic, in addition to other art forms. Among the students were children between the ages of 7 and 13, as well as my three grand- children, ages 3 and 4. The materials at their disposal were different stones, shells, pieces of tiles, pebbles, and ceramic shards. Nothing was planned in advance. The children placed their materials on a board and organized them however they desired – without gluing. They were encouraged to rearrange them over and over across the surface. Only when they said that they were finished were they given another board of the same dimensions, on which to affix the composition. Together, we determined with which section to begin gluing, spread ceramic glue on the correlating section of the clean board, and transferred materials from the original board to the new permanent base. With time, the students learned to affix the materials themselves. In each session, they worked on an additional section of the creation. Most requested to return and work on an additional mosaic. I observed that older children (ages 7-12) showed a tendency to begin with symmetrical work, but in the second stage developed an openness to more freeform abstract works. The younger ones (ages 3-4) initially laid the stones in an arbitrary fashion, then slowly developed composition and organization. In both cases, the process of working sequentially provided students with a feeling of positive development and growth.
SPONTANEOUS MOSAIC METHOD IN THE ART SCHOOL OF ASHKELON I found that working in mosaic has many advantages for children, including improvements in: Self-expression and Positive Feedback Working with mosaic gave the children the possibility to express their personal taste, whether in abstract compositions or a subject of their choosing. In selecting materials, colors, and shapes, the children found an opportunity to express themselves freely without fear of failure. The results in mosaic are always thrilling, as the materials interact in new ways, giving students a profound feeling of satisfaction. Additional improvements in self image came from the appreciation and admiration of family and peers, who were consistently impressed by the children’s creativity. Sense of Control Over Progress The slowness inherent in the process of mosaic provided students with a strong sense of control over their own work. Mosaic is a medium in which small decisions are made constantly, allowing children to take the initiative and manage their own progress. The child has the ability to evaluate their work along the way, to find good and bad points and choose their next step accordingly. During the week, they have the opportunity to dream and think about their work until the next session, with a sort of delayed gratification. Each student works at his or her own pace, without competition, seeing the results of their own individual efforts. Assumed Responsibility and Learning The medium of mosaic presented the children with an opportunity to develop new skills specific to the task at hand – to gather and cut materials, to glue cleanly, to repair, to arrange objects according to their own concept or pattern. Each of these is an area where there is no firm right and wrong, allowing the children to see improvement within their own personal development, rather measured against peers.
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