REVOLUTION
REFLECTION
READING
RECYCLING
Pete Bannan • Main Line Times • June, 2012
Students and teachers at Welsh Valley Middle School recently unveiled their new mosaic designed by renowned Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar. The artist’s Magic Gardens is a famed destination on South Street and his murals grace buildings around Philadelphia.
Art teachers Todd Marrone and Lori Roger said the work on the lobby wall was meant to be inclusive and with that in mind students in every class of the school took part.
Marrone said that Zagar sketched out the drawing. It then took two weeks of tiling to complete the mural.
The $4,000 project was supported by the Educational Foundation of Lower Merion, a parent group, and the Lower Merion School District.
A crown in the mural is in memory of Sean King, a student at Welsh Valley who died the year. His class did all of the tiles in the crown.
Some of the glazed tiles are from student projects from last year. Other tiles came from parents’ contributions.
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Laytex on Wall • 20’x7′ • The Feldmans’ Basement
My collaborator, Ben Feldman, and I recently put the finishing touches on a collabor-intensive, monumental mural. The work is based on a composition, based on Ben’s doodles, based on Ben’s imagination. It’s quite a scene.
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Mosaic Mural • 10’x22′ • Welsh Valley Middle School
The Welsh Valley Middle School community recently teamed with one of Philadelphia’s most prolific and preeminent artistic visionaries, Isaiah Zagar, to create a monumental work of art. The project was spurred by a generous grant from the Lower Merion Education Foundation and further supported by LMSD administration, Welsh Valley Student Government and the Home & School Association.
Most every student worked to embellish Zagar’s original composition by creating, placing and polishing each individual tile. In addition to embodying communal harmony and the collaborative process, the work serves as a celebration of the life of a fallen student and friend, Sean King. Just like the installation dedicated in his name, Sean’s impact will continue to beautify and inspire for many years to come.
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Computer Embellished Drawing
A few weeks ago, my young mural collaborator, Ben, created a flurry of doodles. We then selected some of those doodles and dropped them into a rough composition. Next, we refined and tightened the composition and decided what colors will go where. Next stop, basement wall… stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.
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I’ve recently embarked upon a mural collaboration with my young pal, Ben Feldman. So far, we’ve co-doodled and co-color-selected. Soon, we’ll be co-ruining-their-basement-carpet.
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Acrylic • Underground Arts at the Wolf Building
Last summer, I took on the monumental task of creating a mammoth mural in the catacombs of the Philadelphia’s Underground Arts at the Wolf Building. After completing the extemporaneous outline, I handed over the monumentaler task of coordinating the coloring efforts (based loosely on these specs) to the venue owner.
The space will be hosting a huge Late Night Cabaret series this fall so the race is on to complete the work before the festivities. Want to lend a hand?
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Tile Mosaic on Plaster Skull • Skull Size • Private Collection
My school recently secured a grant to have Philadelphia artist, Isaiah Zagar, work with students to install a monumental mosaic mural. Consequently, I’ve been experimenting with various mosaic materials and techniques. Consequently, this skull is covered in tile.
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Acrylic on Canvas & Wall • The Room Down the Hall
The collaborative paintings are hung, the room is complete and the reviews are in:
“I don’t hate it.”
-Heather Hall, Wife
“I wanna go downstairs and play with toys.”
-Rocco Marrone, Son and Co-collaborator
“Ga Ga.”
-Matilda Marrone, Daughter
Ben Franklin Jr. High Art Club • Fargo, ND
“Hey Todd,
I just wanted to send you the pictures of the mural we did as a junior high art club project all the way here in Fargo, North Dakota. We got permission to do it on 2 4×8′ panels of plywood. Originally it was going to be much larger, but then we would have had to get permission from the district. We created a logo for our art club t-shirts and screen printed them this morning. Also, I shared your work with my art education professor who loved it and spread the word to his students. You are quite the inspiration. Thank you for letting us study you. Enjoy these photos.
Catie Miller”
Enjoy is an understatement.
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