Helman Elementary School students, from left, Samantha Loper, 7, Will Bowers, 6, and Kiley Pinder, 6, look for their tiles among many that make up the mural marking the school's 30th anniversary.
Photo by Jim Craven
By JONEL ALECCIA
ASHLAND -- Every tile tells a story.
To teacher Julie Romberg, that's the best feature of the new mural outside her Helman Elementary School classroom.
In 6-inch ceramic squares, the 370-tile artwork has captured events, emotions, hobbies and homework of every Helman School student.
And it's all just in time for the 30th anniversary of the opening of Ashland's most recently built elementary school. A dedication ceremony is planned for this afternoon.
First-grader Will Bowers can point to a bluish tile glazed with the letter "S" and a leaping fish. The "S" is something he studied last year in kindergarten, but the fish?
"I'm a grand champion," the 6-year-old explains. "Every time I go out, I catch one."
The wall tells other tales as well. There's a tile in tribute to Neil Richardson, the Helman principal who'll retire in June after 41 years with the district, including 30 at the elementary school.
There's a tile titled "Learning Together" by Ashland Superintendent John Daggett, and one that reads "Believe the Children" by Director of Education Karen Dalrymple.
There are butterflies and bugs, mushrooms and flowers -- and quite a few likenesses of Henry the Dragon, the Helman mascot.
The project culminates more than a year of work by Romberg, a first-grade teacher. She became interested in the idea of a tile mural after seeing an artist's work at Southern Oregon University two years ago.
Romberg's students work with clay a lot anyway, so she figured a mural would be an easy, lasting way to mark the anniversary.
Armed with a $500 grant from the Ashland Schools Foundation, $100 from the PTA and a week of substitute time from the district, she coordinated the project.
Romberg's husband, Jim, is an associate professor of art at SOU and a renowned ceramics artist. He took care of a lot of the technical chores, including mounting and grouting the mural on the wall facing Helman Street.
Once a frame is installed around the mural, it will be tough to budge any of the heavy tiles, she says. Romberg has worried about the potential of vandalism to the just-completed artwork, especially after a tree outside her classroom was cut down last year.
As the mural was being assembled, children riding by on bicycles stopped to point out their artwork.
"They'd say, `I'm going to bring my kids back when I'm a grown-up!"' Romberg says.
Their ceramic stories, she adds, are sure to stand the test of time.
