Prospect Hill Academy is a K-12 charter School with campuses in Somerville and Cambridge, MA. In 2011 the students in the upper school moved into a newly renovated building. Prior to the renovation the school did not have a cafeteria or large group meeting place. I spent the winter working intensively with the advanced art class of eleventh and twelfth graders to design, carve, and glaze large ceramic tiles, which were to be hung in the new cafeteria. The students made tiles representing every subject taught, each team sport, community service and college prep, to visually define their school.

Meanwhile, each seventh grader, new to the upper school campus, carved and glazed a letter tile, used plaster molds to make dimensional border tiles, and templates to make edge tiles. One hundred seventh graders made hundreds of tiles faster than I could have ever imagined!

The final installation came together so well, bringing color and energy to all sides of the cafeteria.

Funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) STARS Residency Grant