SCHOOL WIDE MURAL PROJECT:
By: René Martucci
Ceramic Artist in Residence

As a teacher, I want to use every opportunity to encourage creativity, self-expression and an appreciation of art.  I am interested in each student having a positive experience and a sense of confidence in his or her ability to be creative. 

I feel honored to work with the students and teachers at Marguerite Montgomery Elementary. It is exciting to see how creative, imaginative and hardworking these students are. All ages had an opportunity to be involvedin these projects. Students created hand sculpted ceramic flowers, leaves, butterflies, dragonflies, birds and more to incorporate in a local landscape mosaic. I sculpted the black mustang to represent the school mascot for the "Growing Garden". Intalling and creating both of these mosaics was a team effort with artist and educator Lisa Lengtat.

“The Growing Garden” 2008

A school wide art collaboration, led by artist Rene Martucci.

This year long project resulted in a public art piece showcasing student artists

images based on the cultural landscape of Davis.  Creating the mural reinforces the importance of community, capturing local history and culture with art.  This ceramic mural provided students an opportunity to incorporate many unique and individual pieces inside a cohesive whole that provides an illustration of their community.  The mural is filled with small sculptures created by the students to reflect their views of Davis and its history; the hands in the center of the sun signify friendship, cooperation and collaboration, and the smaller detailed pieces reflect what is seen in local nature.  The horse not only represents the school mascot, a wild mustang, but also signifies the integral roll horses played in the survival of pioneers and early farmers who came to California. 

“The Growing Garden”   is underwritten by Frank H. & Eva B. Buck Foundation, Yolo County Arts Council and the students, teachers and parents of Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School, Davis

“The Stories We Share” 2009

School-wide public art collaboration

 Artist, René Martucci

This year long project resulted in a public art piece showcasing student art

work inspired by many cultures.  This collaborative mural project offered students the opportunity to design and create original ceramic sculptures to incorporate into their school public art piece. Their efforts show that we value contributions of art through the recognition of the various cultures within our community.

From a distance, the mural is seen as one cohesive image. Upon closer inspection, many detailed elements are discovered, bringing deeper meaning to this work. These Bas-relief sculptures represent themes we explored though stories, cultural images and historic art examples. These original creations reflect grade level topics; the faces represent the people of My Community; small figures holding hands represent Our Ancestors, while cooperation and understanding of others around the world is represented by various cultures studied; African, Asian, Latin American and Native American.

In creating this mural, we reinforce the importance of community, understanding and recorded history. Through art, cultures and stories are preserved. Through this mosaic mural, we invite the viewer to imagine and enjoy the stories we share.

“The Stories We Share” is underwritten by the Frank H. & Eva B. Buck Foundation, Yolo County Arts Council and the students, teachers and parents of Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School, Davis.