Last week, I had the privilege of attending a very special event at Renton Technical College. The event was the unveiling of a very special art mosaic entitled “Faces of RTC.” RTC’s CommUNITY art project was designed to celebrate the unity and diversity of its campus and to embrace individual uniqueness. For the mosaic, approximately 1,300 students, staff, faculty, alumni and community supporters created colorful self-portraits. These individual works of art were combined into a mosaic image of the college’s logo 3-foot by 4-foot. From a distance, you see an image of the Roberts Campus Center and if you look closely, you can see the individual drawings, some serious, some comical, some with whimsy and some rather professional.
This project was designed in lieu of the traditional CommUNITY festival/International Fair, in a year of severe budget cuts, as a way to rally together and bring enthusiasm and passion for the campus community. The campus embraced the project and entire classes participated by creating their self-portraits in crayons and markers! To add to the fun, the campus had special contests to see if you could guess who was who.
How to support the RTC Foundation
Renton Technical College is offering for sale a print of the mosaic in two forms, a 16 x 20 matted print or package of 10 notecards. Both are available on the college’s Web site (www.rtc.edu/Foundation/Events/Mosaic.aspx). All proceeds from the sales of the mosaic go to Renton Technical College’s Foundation, who funded the initial project.
In was heartwarming to see folks from all over the campus and community at the unveiling. Jenna Pollock, curriculum and technology specialist, and Dr. Debbie Ranniger, director of the Renton Technical College’s Foundation, deserve a special shout-out for spearheading this amazing project. The college plans to display the mosaic in several locations around the city, including the Renton History Museum, before it comes back to campus for installation in a campus building, yet to be announced.
The mosaic will be displayed next week at the college, in the Robert C. Roberts building, just as you enter the main door, next to Registration. I encourage you to check out the mosaic, and this celebration of Renton’s very unique diversity! Have lunch at the Culinaire Room, open to the public for lunch from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., or stop at the bakery for a treat while you are there!
Susan Bressler is an active member of a number of Renton organizations, including Piazza Renton. E-mail her at scbressler@comcast.net. Susan’s husband Don is president of Renton Technical College.
