MOSAICS!
By Zahra Chopra
Mosaics
Today I went to interview the mosaics class. They couldn't have been more helpful. While I was in there, it was obvious the teacher, Mrs. Dollar, had the the full respect of her class. The students helped their classmates out, and they didn't even snipe and gripe at each other! Looking back, it is the exact opposite of my classroom environment. Even though I could go on and on about how wonderful the feel of the room was, I’ll cut to the chase. The artifacts that the kids there were creating were breathtaking. 4th-6th graders making masterpieces! The frames and boxes looked professional, and I’m not just saying all of this. The mosaics people didn't pay me to write all this either. I asked around, and most of the kids seemed to have taken either science or art classes before this one. There were also quite a few people who said smashing the glass into smaller pieces was their favorite part. Still, I haven’t told you what a mosaic is.
How To
To make a mosaic you take small pieces of glass and marbles and arrange them on a surface. That’s all! Unfortunately, the process is a lot more complicated. The first step to ‘mosaicing’ is drawing your design on a piece of paper. After you've finished that, you can get your shards of glass and arrange them on the paper. Now it’s time to take a slab of wood and spread the adhesive on it. Then grab your ‘adhesivised’ wood and arrange the glass on it the same way you did with your rough draft (the paper). Getting tired? Well, too bad! We’re only halfway done! The next step is to paint grout onto the wood. Grout is a thick, grainy, material that comes in white and gray. When it dries, it hardens, almost like cement, making sure the mosaic doesn't fall apart as soon as you pick it up. Once you finish with this thick, sloppy substance, you take a sponge and dab enough grout off to see the glass, marbles, and stones. Finally, you can lay it to dry and you are done!
Stage 1
Draw your design on paper and arrange the glass you picked out on it
Stage 2
Put adhesive on your piece of wood
Stage 3
Take the glass from you paper rough draft and arrange it on the wood
Stage 4
Paint the grub on your wood
Stage 5
Dab off enough grub so that the glass, stones and marbles show
Stage 6
Lay out to dry
About ME
An 11 year old girl, Zahra, isn't the most interesting person you could meet. She is a simple, ordinary kid. When asked to write something special about herself, she was at a complete loss. This is what I managed to get out of her.
Born in Canada, Zahra has lived in Toronto, ON for 9 years. Then in 2012 her father got a job opportunity in Coppell, TX. She went to Cottonwood Creek elementary for 2 years, and is currently enrolled at Coppell Middle West. “I had the most phenomenal teacher ever for 4th grade, and when she moved up to teach 5th grade, I was lucky enough to have the option to move up with her,” says Zahra. Zahra is often told that she is very empathetic, to the point of putting the needs of others before her own. Loving to read and write, her ambition is to become an author. However, she loves to help people, so the occupation of a social worker comes to mind. She is in the process of writing a book with a friend and hopes that this novel will go far. Arjun, at 13 years, is her only sibling. If asked she would say that he is terrible to her, though Arjun would most likely respond that Zahra over reacts to the things he does. Their parents would just tell them to stop arguing. Once again, Zahra isn't the most interview-worthy you could meet, but like most people, you can find a few interesting facts about her is you look hard.