Andrea Skyberg

1st – 6th grade students created an 8-foot tall Diversity Tree by covering a cardboard tube is paper cut profile portraits in the style of the Wisconsin Artist, Mary Nohl. With the leftover  scraps of paper they wrapped wooded dowels to cover the branches of the tree.
Each student created a self portrait in the shape of a leaf out of paper pulp and paint. They also worked on a writing exercise, which allowed them to share aspects of their cultural background. Their final writing was decorated and adhered to the back of each leaf. Additional painted leaves and decorative elements, such as beaded strings and mosaic panels, were created and added to the tree to embellish it.

Currently the Diversity Tree is being exhibited in the lobby of the Milwaukee Public Schools Central Office