Pieces fall perfectly into place for design project

When Bunnings donated to Bailey Road School some ceramic tiles in different colours, the challenge was to use them in art projects that would beautify the school. Technology teacher Karishma Kumar used the opportunity for her Year 7 and 8 students to learn the process of digital and physical mosaic design, as she explains.

It started with conversations about beautifying our school and how we could get all our students involved in a Technology project that could be hands-on and incorporate some digital skills too, as we all enjoy using digital technology.

I reached out to Bunnings Warehouse and asked for some support with project ideas and they organised for me to come and attend a DIY skills workshop in creating mosaic art. I was absolutely inspired and loved breaking down the tiles and arranging them to create something beautiful. Triss from the Mt Wellington store was a massive help in supporting us and donating the tiles to help us get started.

From this, I explored how to create digital mosaic art using Google Drawings, and thought it would be an amazing opportunity for our students to learn this and replicate their digital art in real life!

Intricate details

Students began by creating a digital version of the design to help them plan how their mosaic art was going to look.

They worked with Google Drawings and picked the same colours as the tiles using hex colour coding. They used the polyline tool to make different shapes to represent the ‘tiles’, picking the fill colour, line colour and thickness, then using the magnifying glass icon to ‘zoom in’ on their artwork to create the details.

Google Drawings was a new tool to them, so this was a way they could learn some digital tech skills, as well as produce a digital masterpiece.

After I modelled this first, it was amazing to see how quickly they picked up the skills they needed and started obsessing over their designs. They learnt how to navigate through the menu, fill in shapes, explore various colours, cut, copy, paste, crop and edit images to their liking. I provided a computer mouse for each student to help create intricate designs, and having smaller groups made it easier for me to move around and provide any additional support.

Using Google Classroom made it easy for me as the teacher to create a blank drawing template for each student, be able to monitor their progress and have access to all their creations so that I could print and laminate their designs. Students knew exactly where to find their design each time they logged in.

Hammer and tile cutter

For students, the skill of learning how to create this on a computer was brand new and rewarding. They not only learnt how to use Google Drawings, but also how to replicate images with the polyline tool, create that ‘mosaic’ effect with simple shapes and colours, and feel accomplished and excited about it all! They learnt to make decisions for themselves on their creative content, and how to digitally manipulate images and share them.

Students used their picture as a template to help them guide where to put the real tiles. They used a hammer to smash up large tiles and a tile cutter to make smaller cuts.

After they organised their tiles, they used tile glue to secure their design. Once the glue had dried, they used ready-made grout to fill in the gaps and damp rags to polish it up.

When it came to creating their actual art with tiles, you could see their confidence grow as they knew the process. They could decide which tool would help them break up the tiles (tile cutter or hammer), organise the various tiles to look like the image they’ve designed, glue the pieces together and apply the grout once it was dry.

When students were finished, they would offer to help their peers. It was so amazing to see the collaboration and support among each other, it felt like I was learning from them!

Desired look

There are always going to be unexpected challenges when starting something new, but it is important to give it a go and be upfront with students about how much you know and that you are still learning. I think they appreciated my honesty and that we were on this learning journey together. If I didn’t have the answer, we could Google it or watch a tutorial on YouTube. I think the digital mosaic art was easy to do and very engaging for all my students but cutting and organising actual tile pieces was time-consuming and frustrating when they couldn’t find the right size or coloured tile to achieve their desired look. In the end, it all worked out and they couldn’t wait to take it home. I think everyone appreciated all the effort that went into this project, which took up most of the term!

Five steps to creating a digital and real mosaic

1. Make a template using Google Drawings.

Trust the process

I would absolutely do it again. I think it would be so valuable for any Year 7 and 8 students to explore this process as part of their Technology programme. I only wish I could provide more colours. There was so much learning and rich conversation around this whole project. I have started introducing digital mosaic designs to Years 5 and 6, and I was surprised at how quickly a lot of them picked it up so easily and enjoyed it, too.

They were showing different designs to their peers, talking about which image they would create, and some were even so engrossed in this process that it became almost therapeutic for them. As a teacher, you just have to let go and trust the process. Trust in yourself and trust in your students, and most importantly, enjoy every minute of it because if you are positive about the learning then your students will be, too.

I was really impressed with the outcomes, as were the students. They loved their creations so much that they ended up taking them home.

2. Print the template, cut out and place onto a plate.

3. Break the tiles, using hammers and tile cutters.

4. Organise and glue in the tiles

5. Use grout to secure the tiles and fill in the gaps.

Multimedia

Access a huge library of multimedia resources at Mixkit (mixkit.co). Select from stock video clips, music tracks, sound effects, icons, and video templates. Search by subject, collection, theme or keyword. No sign-up is needed and you can download as much as you require for projects, presentations and social media.

Climate Change

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Also from NIWA, Our Future Climate New Zealand (ofcnz.niwa.co.nz) is an interactive website that’s been designed to give you the ability to look at a number of climate change projections for the country. Check out maps and charts on temperature and rainfall projections for different parts of the country.

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Music Steam

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Timelines

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org/toah/chronology/) chronicles the New York museum’s extensive collection (930 essays and 7,000 objects), from 8,000 BCE to the present. Choose the time and location, or search for specific items, like artist, material or technique.

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Youtube Channels Plagiarism Checkers

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