This month, the Community Opportunities Club West members wanted to create mosaic pieces in art class. So Jared M. and staff went to Home Depot to purchase the plywood needed for the art project, and Jared helped pick out the smoothest and flattest piece of two-foot by six-foot plywood board. Club members were excited to take part in this activity and each of them was able to choose one of the following designs: a bird, two rubber duckies, a skull, a dog’s head or a cat’s head. Our staff was able to easily draw the designs and cut the pieces with a skill saw (Especially Jared; he loves to help out in any way with projects around the club). 
Next, members were given a variety of small and large tiles, glass nodules and bottle caps in several colors and sizes to create the pattern on the plywood pieces. Some of the participants could glue the pieces by themselves and others needed a little help.Our artists had to allow the glue to dry overnight before they could start the next step, which was grouting. Grouting can be a bit messy, so the participants that didn’t mind getting dirty grouted their own pieces, and staff members assisted the other individuals. They used wet paper towels to remove the excess grout from the glass and tiles, and once it had dried a bit they buffed the pieces to make the glass sparkle.
Lastly, they attached some wire to their pieces so they could proudly hang them up. This activity took several days to create, and many of our participants were so excited that they want to take their projects home that day, but with this one they had to demonstrate some patience. Our staff tries to teach our participants that some things are worth the wait! We hope that one or two of their creations will be donated to the annual craft fair this year. I’m sure they will sell because they look great!
