Each summer, while the students are off-campus, teachers and staff are hard at work cleaning, moving, rearranging, and sometimes even rebuilding classrooms to get them ready for the start of the year. When school is finally back in session, some of our students will return to classrooms they are already familiar with, while others prepare to explore a new space in the coming year. All of our students, however, will pass through the halls and marvel at the changes, big and little, that have been prepared for their arrival.
This year, Ms. Maynard’s second grade class was welcomed into a colorful and warm new classroom featuring decorative painting known as Lazure. Lazure is a method of using many thin layers of color that are blended together. Found in many Waldorf schools, the effect of this technique is that light is able to pass through the colors and bounce back creating an environment that is awash with color, warmth, movement, and energy. According to the blog Waldorfish, this technique was invented by Rudolf Steiner himself!
Lazure painting was initially created by Rudolf Steiner for the performance hall ceilings of the Goetheanum, which is the headquarters of the international Anthroposophical Society, located in Dornach, Switzerland. He developed Lazure as a means to bringing the most luminous quality of color. Years later, after he had created and developed the Waldorf School movement, Steiner instructed the teachers and parents in how to ensoul the walls of the school with Lazure.
With the help of parents in her class, Ms. Maynard applied this technique to create a beautiful environment for her class, which we’re sure will inspire and delight those who have the privilege of sharing this classroom for years to come! Thank you to those who helped out, and to Ms. Maynard for this creative and thoughtful endeavor.
Interested in learning more about Lazure? Listen to Waldorfy’s podcast on the topic here!