Past Projects
Anna has taught classes and workshops at education conferences, alternative high schools, after-school programs, women's shelters, fine art programs, adult residential art camps. She has volunteered and organized humanitarian and art projects for students in Mexico City, Honduras and San Jose del Cabo, Baja.
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Anna specializes in mosaic, a medium that lends itself as a teaching tool and serves as the backbone of many professional and charitable projects. Working in education and the arts for over 20 years, she uses these talents to help people meet their basic needs and create self-sustaining community development programs. A few of the most notable projects she has created during her tenure as an artist and educator:
Mosaic Birthday Cake for Oregon's Sesquicentennial
For Oregon’s 150th birthday in 2009, Anna was commissioned by the Clackamas County Arts Alliance to build a custom, four-tiered, mosaic cake over two feet in diameter to commemorate the event. As usual, Anna involved her students in the project, who were tasked with solving design and conceptual problems, using math and research skills, and working together toward a common goal through thinking and dialogue. The finished project, installed at Clackamas College reflects the historical importance and interconnected facets of Clackamas County in Oregon’s history.
Students had to figure out the scale of the cake and construction.
After the cake dimensions were fiqured out the cake had to be covered creating a base layer in which to attach the tile.
The cake was created by the deadline. Everyone was thrilled with the final product.
Students had to figure out the scale of the cake and construction.
The pebble mosaic install was a challenge. We had to create 8 seperate pieces to fit together as one unit. We created the patterns and cut cement board to be used as the base.
The design for this project was very specific. It took a while for us to figure out the best way to create a workable pattern in the wet cement. The pattern was created first and then transferred to the wet cement. The template was used to put the black outline in first and then filed with the remaining pattern.
After the mosaic was installed Menucha filled in the negative space with stones. It was regrouted in place to seal all the seams.
The pebble mosaic install was a challenge. We had to create 8 seperate pieces to fit together as one unit. We created the patterns and cut cement board to be used as the base.
Menucha Pebble Mosaic
Anna has attended and taught at the renowned Menucha Art Retreat in Corbett, Oregon on numerous occasions. She is the first mosaic instructor ever to be hired at the long-standing retreat and was asked by its director to construct a large pebble-mosaic labyrinth on the grounds. With the help of her students, who worked in design teams, the labyrinth was completed in 2009 and serves as one of the expansive Menucha property’s most distinctive and visited features. The mosaic is 10 feet in diameter and is
constructed with 8 separate pieces
Chicken Coop Project
In March 2007, Anna started a chicken coop project in Mombasa, Kenya. A micro-enterprise project to benefit widows and children. Anna's Students studied community development issues around the world. Working in teams they create two mosaics about a specific focal area. Clean water, food security, health, education, and employment. Students displayed this project at a local gallery. The gallery show raised awarness and money for the projects,. Enough money was raised to buy the widows land and construct a chicken coop enterprise. Chickens are sold to local restrauants and stores as meat.
Students were divided into teams. Each team was giving a theme in the area of community development. The teams did research, contrasted and compared the issue in 2 differerent countries. Students created 2 mosaics, one image based and one using only stained glass. Students also completed a informational poster highlighting their reserch.
Students created a series of mosaics in the following themes- Clean water, food security, health, education and employment.
The Community Tree of Life was created using over 25,000 copper BB's. Anna traveled to the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada. There she set up a table and asked participates to create a leaf in any design they wanted. Those leaves were used in the mosaic. Anna collected over 70 leaves from people in over 30 different cointries. The background of the Community Tree was created using news paper highlighting the confernce and statistics.
Students were divided into teams. Each team was giving a theme in the area of community development. The teams did research, contrasted and compared the issue in 2 differerent countries. Students created 2 mosaics, one image based and one using only stained glass. Students also completed a informational poster highlighting their reserch.
Stepping Stones RACC Grant Project
Anna was one of the organizers and instructors of The Stepping Stone Project, designed to help Latino youth in Canby, Oregon to acquire art skills, build self-esteem and create connections through the creation of an art show and joint community event.
Student working on her personal story
Adding found objects and detail to the board
In additon to creating their own personal mosaic board, students worked together to create a group mosaic. At the end of the class we held an art opening at a local gallery. Students invited their family and friends and shared with the community their work and process.
Student working on her personal story