Two 10-foot mosaic columns and an archway adorn the newly renovated Eastman Hall on Hillside Children’s Center’s Monroe Avenue campus. Local glass artist Nancy Gong worked with Hillside youth to develop the concept for the pieces, which took about a year to design and create.

When a group of Hillside youth visited Nancy’s studio last year, “I showed them mosaics and shared a concept that I had. Then we talked about shapes and colors that would make the feel peaceful and happy,” Nancy says. “They told me no red and nothing sharp or pointed. They didn’t want any wildlife in the design. I asked about incorporating water and one boy suggested Lake Riley and the fountains at Cobbs Hill Park.”

The mosaics are entitled the Hillside Journey and represent Hillside youth on a path toward a brighter future. The design includes two hills symbolic of looking inward and looking outward as the youth travel on their personal journey through life.

The mosaics are done in smalti glass, a special material that catches sunlight and glistens in unique ways. Creating the mosaics requires precision cutting and assembling the pieces without grout so that light hits the pieces on all edges. “Smalti glass is unique because the look constantly changes as the light changes,” Nancy says. Although smalti glasswork is an ancient art dating back to the Byzantine era in Rome, the Hillside mosaics are the first of their kind in Rochester.

“It’s especially satisfying to know that I’ve been able to add some beauty to the lives of the kids at Hillside,” Nancy says. “They might not otherwise have the opportunity to see and experience something like this. I hope it will have an effect on the kids and they’ll take the time to stop and view it.” She also hopes the staff enjoy the work. “They have a very challenging job and this is my way of reaching out to them,” she says. “The campus is not just bricks and mortar. It’s about life. This is a way to make the campus happy all year round.”