Summer Jobs for Young Artists

On the ground floor of a quiet office building, teenagers gather around a long table. Then the noises start: the sharp click of glass cutters breaking away colorful pieces, the scrape of spreading glue on tile and the sweeping of tinier pieces off the table. High school students, passionate about art, are stretching their creativity and gaining new friends while designing and building mosaic pieces for real-life businesses and locations.

At the Arts on the Block Open House, held Aug. 5, students-turned-apprentices showed and sold their work. The program offers high school students a chance to immerse themselves in the life of a working artist and earn money while learning.

Mosaics have been the dominant medium for Arts on the Block since the program opened its doors in 2003.

"It's sort of like building a puzzle," said Sara Luu, a senior from Kennedy High School, about the mosaic work.

Arts on the Block's past major commissions include benches with mosaic patterns in downtown Silver Spring and a mural for the front of the Gilchrist Center, now moved to the walkway connecting Georgia Avenue to the business district. Each summer, the students work on commissions, smaller personal requests and their own individual artwork.

After meeting with clients, the apprentices sketch possible designs and then work in teams to create each piece.

Students are paid each week based on how well they performed in the categories of personal responsibility, teamwork and the ability to work with a supervisor.

Since 2003, about 250 students have been apprentices in the summer and weekly programs during the school year, directed by Carin Quiroga, the lead artist on the project, a sculptor and active arts educator.

This year, a major commission came in from St. Francis International School in Silver Spring for a mosaic to adorn the new front of the school. The school wanted their logo – an illustration of St. Francis holding a globe – in mosaic form, so Arts on the Block apprentices' sketched out two possibilities and made a transferable copy of the logo to show how the designs would work with the image.

The school chose a design based on the natural elements, moving from images of the sun to the waves of the sea. This mural is one of the apprentices' last major projects to be completed this summer.

"It's a great medium for the kids," said executive director Jan Goldstein, about working with mosaics. "It teaches a lot, not only artistic skills. You have to be pretty patient with mosaic and learn how to work on a team."

Most students apprenticing this summer said they had heard about Arts on the Block from friends, especially at school.

Nora Meek, a Richard Montgomery High School student who helped guests make buttons during the open house, said she's been interested in art for a long time. The president of her art club at school, Meek is interested in digital art and sequential art like comics.

Others, like Christian Hidalgo, a senior at Wheaton High School, came to art more recently but said he wants to "make sure it's in my plans for the future."

An opening reception for the students' individual work happens on Sept. 10 at Kefa Café in downtown Silver Spring.