East Rock (Morning, Afternoon, Late Spring, Early Fall, and Sky)

Artist: Elizabeth McDonald
Date: 2001
Material: Ceramic tile
Location: Auditorium, Wilbur Cross High School, 181 Mitchell Drive

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Wilbur Cross High School sits at the base of one of New Haven's prominent geological feature: East Rock-a vertical, red-faced trap rock ridge rising 365 feet above sea level. Not surprisingly, artist Elizabeth McDonald chose this beloved landmark as the subject of her five mosaic panels. Like an Impressionist, McDonald captures the changing qualities of East Rock under different lighting conditions-seasonal and temporal-giving each panel a unique sense of time and atmosphere.

Her work is described as "painterly" due to the soft effect of the powdered pigments, which she layers to reflect the natural erosion continually shaping the ridge. The Boston Globe has praised McDonald's mosaics as "mysterious and archetypal", noting that "the ragged edges of the tiny squares suggest something ancient."

Based in Bridgewater, Connecticut, McDonald's public art can be seen throughout the State, in several venues in Connecticut, including tile work on the exterior of the Department of Environmental Protection in Hartford. In 1999, she received the Governor's Arts Award in visual art for her contributions to Connecticut's "creative heritage".

Sky of Writing/Sky of Dreams/Sky of Delight

Artist: Suikang Zhao
Date: 2003
Material: Forged steel
Location: Celetano School, 400 Canner Street

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For the new Celentano School, artist Suikang Zhao created a site-specific project installation that blends aesthetics with themes of learning and multiculturalism. His work features a lattice of thin forged steel ribs, into which he wove words selected by faculty-translated into the dome and into thirty different languages.

These words are intricately integrated into the dome and open spaces of the lattice, creating a visual tapestry of global expression. Small pieces of glass and flat gold lettering are embedded throughout the structure, producing a radiant effect when illuminated by natural light-symbolizing enlightment through learning.

Zhao, originally from Shanghai, now lives and works in New York City. He was assisted on this project by Pansum Cheng, Jillian Leedy, Matt Likens, Roman Sharf, Namie Taniguchi, and Mei Tung.