MAY 24, 2022 | Even before the brown paper covering the beautiful art hanging in the cafeteria at Stevan Dohanos Elementary School was removed Tuesday afternoon, fourth-grader Yenyel Renteria wanted anyone who would listen to know just how much he liked the piece.

 

“I like the mosaic because I like space,” said the 9-year-old student.

 

Yenyel’s favorite planets are Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto because they are the colors of his favorite colors.

 

That’s the beauty of the piece created by students and staff with the assistance of George Woideck, Stevan Dohanos’ Artist in Residence from the Ohio Arts Council. 

 

“Every child, every staff member in this building had their hands on this,” said Principal Marie Deshuk. 

 

Deshuk said a group of fifth-grade students known in the building as the Dohanos Ambassadors worked on the final design. The students used a sketch and PhotoShop to create the template for the final mural design.

 

The mural, entitled “Our Solar System,” is a 3-foot-by-10-foot depiction of the planets created from thousands of small tile pieces. It is the latest student-created piece to serve as the capstone project for Woideck’s yearlong work with students blending academic standards with art.

 

“This piece is something that is right from the academic curriculum. A fifth-grade teacher suggested focusing on the solar system,” said Woideck. “The students I work with have a fine art teacher that really focuses on the state’s art curriculum for students. I work from the academic curriculum mixing English, Science, History, and even Math into what I do with students.

 

“I am a huge believer in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) — not just STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math.) We have to put an A in there for art.”

 

Because the piece, the second such work to hang in the school’s cafeteria, is so intertwined with the fifth-grade curriculum, Woideck said the idea of including Pluto was up for much discussion.

 

According to space.com, Pluto once considered the ninth and most distant planet from the sun, is now the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. It received that downgrade in 2006 and has since been a widely controversial topic in astronomy.

 

Including Pluto truly makes the piece a teaching piece, Woideck said.