As the student choir sings an original song about the four seasons by music and choir instructor Scott Larrabee, Sarah Niemann, parent volunteer and artist-in-residence coordinator, unveils the winter mural. “Four Seasons” is a mural in four parts. IC photo by Barbara Lee

by Barbara Stinson Lee
Intermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY — The students in grades one through eight at Saint Vincent de Paul School know more about sculpture and ceramics than they used to, and all students can see highlights of the liturgical year just by looking at the outside wall of the school. April 17 marked the official unveiling of “Four Seasons,” a mural in four parts, an art project created by local Utah artist Margo Bryan Petersen and the students themselves.

Artist-in-Residence Margo Bryan Petersen chats with Saint Vincent de Paul Principal Mark Longe before the murals of the “Four Seasons” are unveiled for students.  IC photos by Barbara S. Lee

Using drawings by the students, Petersen helped them create ceramic tiles that, after painting, firing, glazing, and refiring, were put together into four collages, one for each season – winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Petersen emphasized to the students her belief that sculptural work can be an excellent way to explore self-awareness and the human tie often fostered by art expression.

“Many of you will see tiles you helped create,” Petersen told the students before the unveiling. “This has been a long process, and it has been challenging for me to come into this community, find what pictures best represent you, and help you create your own collages. The collages you see represent drawings done by many students.”

Petersen and Principal Mark Longe thanked the many art moms and teachers who assisted the students in their drawings, and Petersen thanked the school for their support of the project from start to finish.”

“It’s very different to see the murals hanging on a wall and from a distance than the way I have been looking at them – up close and leaning over.”

During the unveiling Scott Larrabee, music teacher, and the student choir sang an original piece by Larrabee titled “There Is A Time, There Is A Season.”