Students and Neighbors Create Community Mosaic

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Gathering to look at their finished project for the first time, students and neighbors found themselves wishing things weren’t quite done yet. After three and a half months of meeting, planning, learning, studying, creating, and forming friendships, 27 people from College Hill paused to reflect not only on the mosaic laid out before them, but also on the relationships that had formed along the way.

On Monday, Dec. 8, 14 Holy Cross students and 13 members of the College Hill Community displayed their community mosaic, “Civitas Branching,” in the Millard Art Center, revealing their three-foot tall by 24--foot wide community creation for the first time.

Surrounded by a border of Holy Cross purple and white, the ceramic mosaic is composed of six separate panels showing a series of trees. Chosen because they symbolize growth, change, and history in the neighborhood, the first two panels show an apple and a pear tree with intertwining branches. The branches represent the intermingling of students and neighbors, as well as the coming together of ideas. The other four panels depict trees in each of the four seasons at different times of day, beginning in fall and moving towards new life and new hope in spring.

The community mosaic will be installed on the foundation of the College Hill Civic Association building (79 Kendig Street, Worcester) in the spring.

Named for the Latin word “civitas,” meaning “community,” the project was the invention of Worcester Art Museum teacher and mosaicist, Hillary Sloate. Sloate, who lives on College Hill and is a member of the Civic Association, thought that creating a mosaic would improve relations between the College and the neighbors.

After months of working out the logistics, the idea finally became a reality.

The mosaic course was run through the College’s Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies as a community-based learning course. Linking learning and living, community-based learning programs combine rigorous academic course work with community-based service opportunities.

In addition to weekly readings and assignments, and a trip to the Worcester Art Museum to study ancient Roman mosaics, students were asked to keep a journal. They were encouraged to write about the mosaic process and the techniques they learned, as well as the camaraderie that formed between them and members of the community.

Jennifer Marcotte ’05 says the project “inspired a sense of solidarity amongst all who participated.

“While our finished product will brighten up the Civic Association and remind students and neighbors alike of the things we share, ultimately it was the act of working together to create the mosaic that was the most fulfilling part of the project.

“I think we all came to a better understanding that Holy Cross is not alone on Mount Saint James and that, in fact, we share this hill with some pretty special and inspiring people.”

Participants in the project ranged from 14 years old to those who have been living on College Hill for more than 50 years. Helen Alisch, a long-time resident of Electric Street and first time mosaicist, said “the experience with the students has been marvelous.

“I had a wonderful time.”

City Councilor Barbara G. Haller, who was present for the unveiling, said that the project allowed neighbors and students to replace any negative feelings with positive ones by creating something beautiful together.

“Art has the power to transform not only how we look at art,” she said, “but also, how we look at each other.”