Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts installs mosaic mural at Lions Lake

Volunteers with the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts began installation of a mosaic mural titled “Water is Life” Monday at Lions Lake Park.

Created by kids at Lebanon Middle School, New Covenant Christian School, and Cornwall Elementary School, the art piece shows the water cycle and ecosystem around a body of water.

Monday night, artists Autumn Krouse, Jodi Price, and Sharon Zook installed square panels (painted by kids at the above schools) for one part of the mural and mapped out the locations to be filled with colored glass shards.

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Krouse said she is always excited to help with mosaic mural installation, and has worked on three so far.

“I look forward to it every year, it’s a blast,” said Krouse, adding that the project is worth it from “the connections you make alone, the people you meet.”

The rest of this week, the council is looking for volunteers from the community to help complete the project, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Every summer, the council installs a mosaic mural created by local kids, with the first being installed in 2018 at the South Sixth Street Playground. Last year’s mural was installed at Hilltop Playground, and the year prior the council organized an installation at South Hills Park.

Since 2018, the council has seen an abundance of community support, both from individuals and businesses donating materials and community members willing to help with installation, Zook said.

In particular, she mentioned people doing community service, both kids and adults, who she said can find community working on these projects.

“Often they get in trouble with the law in their early days, and this is an opportunity for them to do something that the community really appreciates and gives them positive feedback on,” said Zook. “They also see that, your community needs you; we need you, and it’s so important to know that we need you and you belong in this community.”

Zook explained that artist Michaelanne Helms learned the art of mosaic murals (which use bits of glass, mirrors, and other material to create a cohesive image) in Philadelphia and taught the skill to other artists in Lebanon, though she has since moved away.

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In previous years, Zook explained, the council received requests to install murals at specific locations.

For this project, they sought out a location next to a body of water, eventually receiving unanimous approval from North Lebanon Township supervisors to install the mural on the building containing bathrooms at Lions Lake. At last week’s board meeting, supervisor Gary Heisey called the project a great idea.

“It was a welcome ask, and they did mention that it was good timing,” said Price, noting that the park recently underwent a shoreline rehabilitation project.

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, former Lebanon Middle School art teacher Cindy Templin began working on a mosaic project with students, with the intention of creating four panels about the water cycle. However, the closure of schools paused the project, and Templin left Lebanon for a job at New Covenant Christian School. Last year, Zook contacted the new art teacher to obtain the panels.

One panel was intact and another was destroyed, she said, but Templin was able to recreate the second panel with her students at New Covenant. Price’s students at Cornwall Elementary School helped to design a plan for the area around the panels, which will contain depictions of water, butterflies, and reed grass.

Price, who is working on a mosaic mural for the first time, said she appreciates the chance to work with other artists on the project and learn new techniques in the process.

“I think one of the cool things for me is, I work with kids all year round, so I love doing something like this where I can work with fellow artists,” said Price. “It helps me grow as an artist personally, and I can take what I learn back to the classroom.”

Zook explained that the council’s engagement of kids in projects like the annual mosaic murals helps to solidify community stake in public spaces, as well as deter vandalism.

“Student and youth involvement in public spaces helps to preserve the space into the future. When youth are involved, they have a voice in the community, they take ownership of what they’ve done, and they’re likely to take their family, take their friends to come look at it,” said Zook. “So as those kids grow up, that space now has their mark on it, and that carries into the future.”

“It’s not a blank canvas anymore, and blank canvases are often what graffiti artists go for,” added Zook, explaining that the council has had minimal issues with defacement of mosaic murals thus far.

The Council on the Arts engages kids in the arts through a variety of programs, including collaborations with local schools for art exhibitions throughout the year and events like the START Art Club

“In this area, we have a lot of opportunities for extracurriculars in sports, and there’s a little less opportunities in the arts,” Zook explained. “So in the summer we try to add some art programming that we do when we run an art club, and we do these mosaic projects which people look forward to.”