Where Everyone Belongs: The Joy of Mosaic Making with L'Arche

Over the past three weeks, I had a great time connecting with a wonderful group of new friends and being part of their creativity, connection, and fun as I led them through a mosaic-making workshop as part of the Creative Connections program from the L’Arche community at the Saint John Arts Centre.

As L’Arche Saint John has expressed, “We believe in a world where everyone belongs. When persons with intellectual disabilities take their place at the table, they contribute to a more just, compassionate, and vibrant world for all.” It’s a beautiful sentiment that I feel embodies our experience. The inspiration for this workshop came directly from the participants themselves, who had expressed an enthusiasm for working with mosaic. When they contacted me, I jumped at the opportunity to work alongside these imaginative and creative individuals.

Putting Fun First

When we designed this workshop, our priority was to ensure a safe, inclusive, and highly engaging experience. This meant no sharp nippers were used; all materials were safe and pre-sized, allowing participants to focus solely on design.

We offered three different bases for them to choose from: a framed base and two bases with pre-attached chains, all ready to hang proudly in their homes. One participant was especially excited to piece together her name in tile, with a plan to hang it on her bedroom door.

Getting Started

The experience of making the mosaics themselves was a sensory exploration. I encouraged everyone to browse through the variety of materials and choose the colours and shapes that most grabbed their attention, and we spent time playing and selecting our tiles. We had everything from iridescent tiles that shimmer to those with a pleasing matte texture.

The first of three sessions was dedicated to play. Participants used paper versions of their bases to try different arrangements and designs. There was no set plan for anyone to follow; all of the choices were made by each person, ensuring every finished piece was as unique as the individual creating it. 

Once each design was finalized, in the second week, we used a non-toxic glue, Weldbond, to attach the design to the wooden bases. A lot of laughter was had as we got glue on ourselves and our mosaic boards. For those of us who remember (and enjoyed) using Elmer’s school glue, the simple pleasure of peeling the dried residue off our fingers was something of a fun and nostalgic moment; for others, the experience provided more of a tactile challenge. Depending on the assistance needed, some of the projects were done collaboratively, which added another great sense of community and engagement to the process.

The Grouting

The final step—grouting—was also a memorable one. We donned masks and gloves and prepared for the messy texture of the grout. It was definitely the strangest feeling of the whole process for many of the participants, but everyone handled the textural challenge with enthusiasm. 

Seeing the way the grout tied all the individual, colourful pieces together and transforming them into a coherent work of art was incredibly satisfying. In the end, we got them all done, and everyone went home with their beautiful, finished mosaics!

Thank You!

Thank you so much to the organizers at Creative Connections (L’Arche Saint John) for reaching out and initiating this project, and to the staff at the Saint John Arts Centre for hosting us in their wonderful space. It was an honour to take part in these workshops. The spirit of community, creativity and belonging was present in every piece of tile we laid.

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