Girl Scouts donate stained glass mosaic to YWCA Family Village in Issaquah

Published 6:04 pm Sunday, July 13, 2014

The members of Girl Scouts of Western Washington Troop 50614 demonstrated their commitment to making the community a better place with a piece of permanent artwork donated to the YWCA Family Village Issaquah.

The troop worked with residents of Family Village Issaquah to create a beautiful mosaic out of recycled stained glass as part of their Girl Scout Silver Award project. Entitled The Four Seasons Tree of Life, the 10-by-4-foot artwork was designed by Sammamish mosaic artist Cheryl Smith.

Smith specializes in leading groups of volunteers in the creation of large scale mosaic installations. She trained members of the  troop in the art of mosaic, and the girls then worked side-by-side with residents, teaching them how to safely handle the glass and place the pieces on the design.

More than 200 residents joined the artistic effort, including kids and adults of all ages.

“The inter-generational and cross-cultural interactions as the scouts and residents worked together were precious,” Smith said. “You could feel the enthusiasm of the residents throughout the day as they created the mosaic. That’s why I love what I do; bringing people together, in community, to create a lasting piece of art they can take pride in.”

The Four Seasons Tree of Life is a permanent piece of outdoor art hanging on the patio wall near the playground at the YWCA Family Village in the Issaquah Highlands. The work, as well as other designs by Smith, can be seen at cherylsmithmosaics.com.

Thanks to Girl Scouts of Western Washington Troop 50614: Abbie Stamper, Amanda Delgado, Carolina Delgado, Chase Dalzell, India Andrews-Shank, Isha Kshirsagar, Lane McIntyre, Mahathi Allepally, Matisse McCoy, Maya Rajavel and Sahana Sundar.

Also, Gayle Johnson, an experienced nonprofit leader formerly with Sound Mental Health, has been named YWCA senior director of external relations. In this position, Johnson will provide strategic leadership to five YWCA departments: Development, community engagement, public policy and advocacy, communications and marketing and donor information services.