(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)
FORT ATKINSON — After several months of planning, and only a few days of hard work to put it together, St. Joseph Parish and School in Fort Atkinson has a “museum quality site” that parishioners and students will “cherish for years.”
On Wednesday, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Pastor Fr. Brian Wilk and Principal Kari Homb cut the ribbon, unveiling a new mosaic depicting the life of Jesus and his work on earth.
The mosaic was put together on a wall in the shared hall space between the church and the school.
“We thought it would be so nice to tie the parish and the school together to connect the two pieces together,” said Rhona Buchta, member of the school’s Art Enrichment Committee.
“The goal for art enrichment is not just about the school. We also wanted the parish to connect. Everybody was involved that was available to put in a tile, to contribute in some way,” she added.
The mosaic shows scenes of Jesus’ early life with his family and teaching in his adult life.
It also has two attached cabinets that will display memorabilia from the parish’s history, going back to the 1850s when a travelling priest ministered to the faithful before a church was built. They each contain tiles from a mosaic in the parish’s previous church building.
Putting it all together
The mosaic’s design was done by artist-in-residence Josh Winer from Boston.
Winer had worked with the school previously a few years ago on a mosaic in the school’s main hallway.
The Art Enrichment Committee, headed by Sally Koehler, decided to bring in Winer, when Koehler expressed a desire to liven up what was just a bare white wall in the hall.
Earlier in the school year, Winer met with students and staff to get their ideas of what they would like to see in the mosaic. He took these ideas and came up with a rendering of what would be put on the wall.
Just four days before the unveiling, work was begun on putting the pieces of glass on the wall to make the mosaic.
A lot of the work was done on Monday, just two days prior to unveiling. Every student was able to put a tile on the wall, with the older students getting to do more of the work.
Eighth grader Sara Vander Mause was one of a few older students who got to help plan out and put together a dove, featured on the mosaic.
“That was really enjoyable and I got to work on it with my friends,” she said.
Sixth grader Eli Koehler got to help cut some of the mosaic pieces.
He said his favorite part of the project was “Getting to work with Josh [Winer] and getting to work with grouting and placing the mosaic pieces in.”
Other parish members, including groups such as the Council of Catholic Women, also helped put tiles on the mosaic.
The finishing touches were put on the wall the day prior to the unveiling.
“At first, I didn’t realize that it was going to be really beautiful,” said eighth grader Emmalee Buchta. “It’s much more colorful than I thought it was going to be and it looks really nice.”
“I think they’re really going to like it because it took a lot of work and it looks really good now that it’s up on the wall and all together,” said sixth grader Anthony Theriault.
Unveiling ceremony
Students, families, and other involved parishioners attended the unveiling ceremony.
“We are so very blessed,” said Homb as many people viewed the finished mosaic for the first time.
After the ribbon was cut, Winer expressed his thanks to everyone involved.
“It was a very happy time for me to be here . . . I’m filled with joy to be able to get to know every person, and to be able to do something like this together really is a lot of fun. We have something beautiful that’s left afterward,” he said.
Koehler later spoke and thanked everyone involved with the project including the Art Enrichment Committee members and their families, the generous sponsors, those who installed the mosaic, as well as Winer himself.
Koehler called the completion of the project her “Lenten journey.”
Homb closed the ceremony inviting everyone to experience the mosaic, calling it “an opportunity for reflection” and “an opportunity for inspiration.”