Dawn Lynn

When creativity meets collaboration, the results are remarkable. Willow Brook Wildcats have been transforming our school, one wall at a time, with collaborative installations.

Beyond our studio walls, building a community of collaborators has given me thinking partners with infinite possibilities. There are endless benefits to working with one another, sharing, inspiring, fostering, and growing with your school family and professional learning network.

For the Wildcats, it all started with the message that there’s “Only One You!” From concept to creation, I collaborated with our administrator, maintenance team, and our entire school family. Our fish wall began to take shape once all students and school personnel constructed a ceramic tile, from clay to greenware to glazing. As a collective, we created a legacy piece that celebrated our individual uniqueness.

Both images: Flower tiles (and a butterfly) for an outdoor mural inspired by artist Kelsey Montague.

It was an epic undertaking, and the artwork still exists in our cafeteria, going on eleven years now. We clean and repair it with additional tiles every two years.

The success of our installation caught the eye of author Linda Kranz, who had inspired our project. Connecting with her beyond our school walls gave us the opportunity to learn and grow beyond our wildest expectations. She even provided signed books for our studio library.

Collaboration is all about supporting one another and advocating for authentic, artful experiences.

Collaborative projects strengthen connections among your K–5 students and can reflect your community in different ways. Our vibrant collaborative installations mirror our vivid and diverse community. As Missouri’s most diverse elementary school, our students and staff work together on projects, creating unique works of art that share our culture and vision. Collectively, we develop essential art-making skills such as problem-solving, cooperating, and communicating. Each installation, from conception to creation, leads to more innovative outcomes.

From our unique fish wall, we created a tile installation that symbolized growth—a wooden tree cut-out embellished with textured leaves created by children in all classes.

The following year, we commemorated another year as a school of character with hot-air balloons created by third, fourth, and fifth graders. The colorful, textured balloons adorn the walls of the school vestibule.

After lockdown, our school went through a transformation, just like caterpillars. Students and staff continued to make radial flower tiles for our outdoor What Lifts You butterfly wings mural, inspired by illustrator and street artist Kelsey Montague. Our vibrant mural was a true labor of love, made up of unique tiles by staff and students. Each flower tile represents our school family, united to form a vivid symbol of growth and transformation.

We also created a 8 x 16' (2 x 5 m) garden with individual fluttering butterfly tiles.

Collaborative projects create a sense of belonging and unity within the school. Students and staff work together toward a shared vision, fostering pride and connection.

Our school community came together once again for a colorful installation sharing our story of unity with ceramic tiles. Inspired by the ceramic work of artist Polly Apfelbaum, students and staff created ceramic tiles with a variety of shapes, colors, and textures. The tiles were strategically placed against a contrasting background, celebrating our uniqueness coming together as one and visually sharing our diversity.

Our collaborative works of art are striking displays that celebrate our individual differences.

The Wildcats are celebrated on social media, where there’s an amazing group of like-minded art educators, advocates, and creators who enjoy lifting each other up and sharing with one another.

The power of social media has built an amazing collaborative of thinking partners. Networking with one another grows best practices and opportunities for enhancing ideas. Our interactions spark new inspiration and build a strong community of creators.

I shared on social media an all-staff collaborative artwork plan for the first day of professional development based on the artwork of Jimmy Pierce. Project Positivity took off, and with a multitude of ideas and creators, the message grew—multiple schools were creating installations, sharing his message of smiles.

It was exciting to see how other educators added their own touches to the original idea of Project Positivity, making it shine more brightly. Educator Leah Renner had her Lakeview Bulldogs add their mascot among all the smiles—a perfect example of collaboration beyond district boundaries.

We have a bright future ahead, connecting with one another, building community, growing ideas, collaborating, resource-sharing, and gaining global perspectives. Collaboration is all about supporting one another and advocating for authentic, artful experiences.

Dawn Lynn is an art teacher at Willow Brook Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri. dlynn@psdr3.org

Strengthening Connections through Advocacy