Location: Playground at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC*

The structure of the water-play feature was built by students, parents and teachers during the school's playground-building-blitz in the spring of 2004 under the supervision of parent Mike Stinnett.  

Mike Stinnet generously donated materials, tools, expertise and time for the creation of the cement structure.

Upon completion of the structure, in 2005 Monica covered the 200 square feet of undulating river walls with the invaluable help of Duwayne Amen, Summit's Maintenance Director,  and his team. 

The fish ceramic inserts were created by students under the direction of pottery teacher Barbara Eure.

Tile, cement and grout were donated by McCullough Tile.

*Note:  Regrettably, ten years after creation, the underlying cement structure of the narrow part of the Stinnet River sustained serious damage due to prolonged freezing temperatures during the winter of 2015, and a considerable portion of the mosaic had to be removed. However, the head of the river is still intact. 

Once the cement structure was completed, I used tile donated by McCuulogh Tile and ceramic fish created by Barbara Eure's pottery students to cover the 200 square feet of undulating river walls with the invaluable help of Duwayne Amen, Summit's Maintenance Director, and his team. 

Since tiles in different colors and textures were delivered daily, I had to curb my natural tendency to over-plan, and the design developed as I went along. The mosaic took three months to complete and I ultimately found the daily "improvisation"  process very liberating. 

During the final phase, parents and older students volunteered countless hours, first helping to grout and clean-up, and then, Dremel-in-hand, detecting and sanding down any sharp protrusions or edges. 

*Note:  Regrettably, ten years after creation, the underlying cement structure of the narrow part of the Stinnet River sustained serious damage due to prolonged freezing temperatures during the winter of 2015, and a considerable portion of the mosaic had to be removed. However, the head of the river is still intact.