St. Thomas Aquinas High School has a new art installation in the foyer. The display features a live wall spelling the word HOPE and six floating angels., and was inspired by this year’s Catholic Education Week theme – Nurturing Hope.
The live wall installation was put together by Ms. Prouty’s Quad. 2, Grade 11 & 12 Visual Arts class. The wall is made up of succulents with each letter measuring 5’ tall and 3’ wide and spanning 15’ of the foyer. Retired KCDSB colleague, Gerard Dufresne, built the HOPE frame for the students out of wood and the current maintenance crew were essential at getting the live wall to hang vertically. Mrs. Shouldice’s Grade 8 class has taken on the responsibility of caring for the live wall with watering and pruning duties.
The angels are papier mâché messengers of grace caring for the wall of HOPE. They were created last year by Ms. Prouty’s Grade 10 Visual Arts class before Covid 19. The installation was then put on hold until students returned to school in the fall to complete the artwork.
Grade 12 student Amelia Illman helped create the live wall, and spoke about the work that went into it.
“We worked on the planting. We had to pot the plants, we also had to do a little bit of constructions work where we had to hammer down all the wires and the cages. It felt like a long time, but it was probably a week we pulled it together,” she explained.
Fellow Grade 12 student Stephanie Wallace spoke about the project.
“ I like it a lot, I’m a big fan of plants. I also like the lights they added I think it looks really nice,” she said. “I think it came together really well, there was a bit of uncertainty about if it would work. Do you think it will be too heavy, do you think the plants will fall out, do you think they’ll die, but I think it all worked out really well in the end,” she said.
Illman also talked about what she thought of the message.
“I really like the outcome, and I feel like, especially now in a time where everything is so uncertain, that I really like how the school is going on a theme of hope. Right now that is something that is really important. Just considering after everything that has happened in such a short period of time that everyone can use a bit of hope,” she said.
HOPE hangs in front of a word wall as a reminder to students that they can find hope in their community. Words like teamwork, cooperation, love, gratitude, perseverance, compassion, resilience and determination serve as guiding lights for us to look for hope in our everyday lives.
Ms. Prouty spoke about the message.
“The pandemic continues to add stress and anxiety to our daily lives - wearing our masks and keeping our social distance at school. The live wall’s intention was to breath new life, oxygen and growth into the school as the students watch the wall flourish this school year,” She said.