This year, Whitby School was thrilled to host Roseann Consolo as our 2026 Visiting Artist in Residence! Bringing her distinctive artistic vision, hands-on techniques, and creative energy directly to our students. The Artist In Residence program at Whitby goes far beyond standard lessons; it offers our young creators a rare opportunity to work side-by-side with a practicing professional, bridging the gap between foundational technique and real-world expression. Throughout her residency, our art spaces transformed into collaborative workshops as Roseann guided our students in turning curiosity into tangible art.
Meet Rosann
Roseann Consolo was born in New Rochelle, New York and grew up in a small Italian neighborhood. Family and community were integral to her upbringing. At home everything was made from scratch. There was a lot of time spent making and baking, sewing and growing. It wasn’t at all unusual for a found object to be transformed into a beloved treasure. This was the basis from which her creative nature grew.
She attended The School of Visual Arts and received a BFA in Media Arts in 1979. She promptly hit the pavement; portfolio in tow, and landed a job in advertising. For 15 years she created ads, packaging, and TV commercials for a variety of clients including; ABC news, Sony, IBM, Boars Head Provisions, American Express and Georgia Pacific. Roseann left advertising to raise her family, however she stayed involved in the design field by donating her graphic skills to non-profits and community projects.
She took a workshop on mosaics. She was back to working with her hands. Moving through each piece with intention. Using every skill she developed throughout the years. She was so inspired she has been creating glass mosaics ever since!
All About Mosaics
A mosaic is an ancient form of decorative art created by arranging small, colorful pieces of stone, glass, terracotta, or recycled materials (known as tesserae) into patterns or detailed imagery set within an adhesive mortar base and secured with grout.
Originating over 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia with decorated architectural columns, the art form evolved through pebble floors in Ancient Greece, elaborate cut-stone mosaics in Ancient Rome, and shimmering gold-and-glass religious wall displays during the Byzantine Empire.
Modern mosaic art continues this rich tradition by transforming everyday spaces, from city train stations and parks to collaborative school installations, using dynamic textures, vibrant colors, and creative arrangements to bring surfaces to life.
Children's House
In Stepping Stones, our youngest artists embarked on an engaging sensory journey. Roseann joined the classroom to introduce the fundamentals of mosaic making, where toddlers practiced gluing glass mosaic tiles directly onto boards. This hands-on process allowed students to reach key developmental milestones, strengthening fine motor control, spatial awareness, and the pincer grasp, while exploring self-expression alongside a practicing professional.
In Primary, Roseann visited each classroom to present her own portfolio, including the fan-favorite giraffe mosaic piece. The children engaged in curiosity-driven dialogue, asking thoughtful questions about her artistic choices and technique. During the creation process, Roseann guided students through tile selection and direct glue application, encouraging them to follow their visual instincts while learning the sequencing of mosaic construction.
Lower School
Across the Lower School, students worked with Roseann during dedicated studio sessions and explored design planning, color harmony, and composition.
- Technique & Application: Roseann led live demonstrations showing students how to properly butter tiles with glue, evaluate spatial layouts, and select tile shapes that complement a broader design.
- Color Schemes & Planning: Students engaged in thoughtful discussions around color theory, experimenting with contrast, gradients, and pattern flow before committing their tiles to the board.
- Hands-on Grouting Experience: Grade 4 students received a specialized, hands-on demonstration of the grouting stage under Roseann's guidance. Working alongside her to spread grout and wipe down tiles gave students firsthand insight into how raw, separate materials transform into a cohesive, durable piece of art.
Middle School
In the Middle School, students deepened their connection to the craft by framing their work around the IB Statement of Inquiry: "Different styles of personal and cultural expression can facilitate self-discovery and connection in our communities." Guided by the global context of Artistry and Creation, students exercised open-mindedness and principled craftsmanship while activating Social and Self-Management Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills.
- Visual Inquiry & Planning: Prior to Roseann’s arrival, students analyzed her portfolio through the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, mapping observations onto displayed images with Post-it notes. Students then drafted thumbnail sketches in colored pencil, honing spatial layout and typography skills.
- Personal Mosaic Creation: Once Roseann arrived, she introduced the "direct method" of glass tile mosaic. Students created to-scale models, positioned and glued tiles around their text or subject matter, and saw their individual pieces finalized as Roseann and our Middle School art teacher, Ms. Bilden applied the grout.
- The Collaborative "Middle School" Sign: Scaling up their practice, students teamed up in groups of 2–3 to create a large-scale installation reading "Middle School." Utilizing a shared school color scheme of orange and blue, students learned about andamento, the dynamic arrangement of tile lines that creates movement. Roseann and Ms. Bilden sketched wave-like andamento patterns across a giant puzzle template, and sections were "auctioned" to student teams using gallery-style red dots.
- Reflection & The Student Artist Statement: The residency wrapped up with a cross-grade reflective writing process. Students in Grades 5–7 drafted process reflections, which Grade 8 students synthesized and edited into a final Artist Statement. This statement will be mounted alongside the completed sign and Roseann's donated piece, "Helping Hands", grounding the installation in the collective voice of our student body.
A Shared Legacy
By the end of the school year, this incredible residency will culminate in three permanent mosaic installations proudly representing Children's House, Lower School, and Middle School. Every student, from our Stepping Stones placing their first tiles to our Grade 8s, has left a physical piece of themselves in this artwork. Mounted permanently across campus alongside Roseann’s donated piece, "Helping Hands", these signs will stand as a lasting celebration of our community's shared creativity and teamwork.
Interested in learning more about this program, read our Why Artists-in-Residence Are Essential to the Whitby Experience blog.