In the Fall of 2009, we finished. "Living the Dream," a Mosaic project for the Villager Mall Atrium on Madison's East side. Our theme came from the time of excitement and hope after the election of President Obama. This is the second project, on which, Leora Saposnik, Michele Hatchell, Fabu and I have worked together to make a child inspired and partially executed piece of public art. The piece is hanging in the open stairwell at the Villager mall. For this project, we collaborated with the art teachers in many of Madison’s public schools. We provided the teachers with books about artists meant to inspire students to dream a little. After these discussions, the 4/5 grade classes, drew pictures of their vision for the future. We studied the drawings of several hundred students and chose predominant themes and specific drawings or drawing styles to create a composition. Then, Leora and I taught clay making and glazing classes to the children at Midvale and Lincoln schools and with Michele Hatchell at Shorewood Hills. Those children created the pieces which would be part of the composition. We took the children's beautiful work and incorporated it into the mosaic. Fabu also worked on this project with the boys and girls club, writing poems about their dreams. Watching kids get excited to see their work transformed is a humbling and rewarding experience. They truly are brilliant artists. And now every time they visit that building, they can see the part they have played in creating a piece of public art. This project was funded by The American Girl's Fund for Children, Madison Arts Commission, and Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.
