PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The Arts Council
Contact: Sharron Rudowski
205-758-5195, x4
GLASS MOSAIC PROJECTS CONTINUE AT LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
(Tuscaloosa) The Arts Council is pleased to announce the second of three visual arts education projects taking place in three Tuscaloosa City and County schools. Linda Muñoz, glass artist, will guide fourth grade students in mosaic glass projects on January 24, 25 and 26 at 8:30 a.m. at Alberta Elementary, and students at Westwood Elementary on January 31, February 1 and February 2 at 12:30 p.m. The first portion of the project occurred with students from University Place Elementary on November 17, which, in addition to Alberta Elementary, was destroyed by the April 27th tornado. Westwood Elementary is The Arts Council’s partner in the Adopt-A-School program.
The three day projects involve students in the fourth grade due to curriculum requirements that focus on the identification of Alabamians who have made contributions in the fields of art, education and science. On the first day, students explore the Gees Bend Quilters, the Great Depression, post-Civil War sharecroppers and the Civil Rights Movement. The second and third days allow students, through hands-on activities, to learn about art principles such as line, color, texture and composition as they relate to quilt design while making stained glass mosaic art. The projects will result in the design and production of 48” x 48” mosaic quilts composed of stained glass to be displayed at their respective schools. Westwood Elementary’s mosaic will be displayed at the upcoming Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.
Participating students will have produced public art from which they will have pride, ownership and a personal connection with Alabama History.
The program/project is funded in part by a grant from the Support the Arts License Tag Fund. The purpose of the program is to promote the arts in Alabama, especially arts education, including fine arts, dance, folk arts, drama and music.
Linda Muñoz, instructor, has worked in the medium of glass for over 25 years, however her artistic journey began prior to her introduction to glass. Working as a Registered Nurse in a psychiatric hospital, she watched her staff nursing assistants as they pieced quilts to pass the long hours between patient checks. She found the process to be irresistible and soon had pieced her own “Lone Star Quilt.” She has since won awards for her pictorial quilt designs. Muñoz has taught stained glass mosaic art and fused glass to children and adults for the past ten years. In 2010 she was chosen to become a DANA Teaching Artist. The training she received through the Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts was designed to prepare her to integrate arts into the classroom curriculum. The artist’s work can be seen at Northport’s Kentuck Center , The University of Alabama Arboretum, Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL, at the Black Belt Garden on the campus of the University of West Alabama, at Black Belt Treasures in Camden, AL, on the wall of her studio in York, AL and on her web site at littleriverart.com.
Muñoz is assisted by fellow mosaic artists Jackie Jackson and Rosa Hall. Sharron Rudowski, Arts Council Education Director, served as project coordinator between the artists/schools and is also assisting with the instruction of the projects.
For more information about The Arts Council or Bama Theatre visit www.tuscarts.org or follow the group on Facebook at “The Arts Council – Bama Theatre – Cultural Arts Center,” and also on Twitter. Call 205-758-5195 for further information.
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