A YOUNG CONIFER. The art and design department at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has brought students, faculty, and volunteers together to create two stained glass mosaic installations for McIntyre Library on-campus. Jyl Kelley (right) designed the mosaics to capture the surrounding natural landscapes of the Chippewa Valley. (Photo via UW-Eau Claire)

As first-year and returning students of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire pass through the library to check-out their first rental of the year, they will now be greeted with a dual art installations — made by students, faculty, and the local community.

The art and design department at UW-Eau Claire will bring the natural world to McIntyre Library’s first floor, in a new public art installation inspired by trees with special meaning to the region.

Jyl Kelley, a professor of art and design, designed the two new stained-glass installations for display. This will be Kelley's second public art glass project in partnership with university students.

Last year, Kelley facilitated a collaboration between the City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire transit to create a glass-mural-lined bus stop on Water Street, adjacent to the Haas Fine Arts Center (121 Water St., Eau Claire).

For this project, she created visuals of both a young conifer and an aged oak tree. Each species was deliberately selected to highlight their importance to both the university and the wider community.

“As an artist, I'm really interested in the complex wonders of nature — a lot of the work that I do revolves around that." — Jyl Kelley, professor of art and design at UW-Eau Claire

The conifer pays homage to the treescape surrounding the library, while the oak tree marks the acknowledgement of the original Council Oak Tree — once a meeting place for Native nations within the Chippewa Valley.

The concept also will showcase the life cycle and duality of the two trees, from a very young coniferous tree to an old oak. Much of the mosaic's intricate glass arrangements mimic the cell structure of the two species under a microscope, utilizing the reflective qualities of the medium.

Wanrudee Buranakorn, pictured above, assembled the stained glass to form one of the 10-foot-tall mosaics. The glass arrangement mimics the cellular structure of the tree. (Photo via UW-Eau Claire)

“When you start thinking about a medium that's translucent, that light can flow through, it's pretty exciting because you're mixing color in a new way,” Kelley said.

Back in December of last year, Kelley sent an invitation to former students to collaborate on the 10-foot-tall installations.

Will Horohoe, Haylee Schreiber, and Sarah Warren signed up for the challenge, and quickly got to work. Over the course of this year, each student has actively developed skills in grant writing, ideation, feedback — and most importantly, teamwork, Kelley said.

“As an artist, I'm really interested in the complex wonders of nature — a lot of the work that I do revolves around that,” Kelley said. “I connected with these students, who have an equal interest in these types of things, who were wanting to celebrate (nature) as well.”

As the seasons changed and spring turned into summer, the team of students and faculty increased, thanks to a core group of volunteers who joined the collaborative project. Henry Loomis, Wanrudee Buranakorn, Susan O'Brien are three volunteers who have also supported the creation and installation of the mosaics.

Students involved will continue their assistant roles throughout the summer break; the group anticipates the mosaics will be complete when classes begin in September. The two panels — each 10 feet by 4 feet — will be installed on the first floor of the library, overlooking Campus Mall greenspace.

“My hope is once these panels are installed, students and faculty will take time to find our mosaics, learn about the ecosystems that inspired them and find their own inspiration to take from them,” Schreiber shared with UW-Eau Claire.

The university will host an artist reception at 1pm on Sept. 12 in the McIntyre Library on-campus, to view and learn more about the newly installed mosaics. In the meantime, students and faculty are encouraged to stop by the ceramics studio in the fine arts building, to view the groups’ progress live.

To learn more about the UW-Eau Claire mosaic installation, visit the university’s webpage online. To volunteer with Kelley on current and future art projects, reach out via email at kelleyja@uwec.edu.