WESTHAMPTON - Leaf by leaf and bug by bug, students at Westhampton Elementary School are building an enormous three-dimensional tryptich tile mural that will span an entire hallway in the school.

Art teacher Joanne Lucia is coordinating the project, entitled ''Meditation on Natural Organisms'' with Westhampton potter Sam Taylor.

''It's been a very inspiring program for me,'' said Lucia, as she watched students put the finishing touches on myriad clay flowers, birds, fish and reptiles. ''Sam and I have been talking about doing this for a long time. The kids have done so much of the work. We've all had a lot of fun.''

''The level of enthusiasm that Joanne and I have can be a little absurd at times,'' said Taylor, as he moves between students, offering encouragement and pointers. ''Neither one of us wants to say 'we can't do that.'''

And so, the students have hand-crafted over 100 tiles, on which they will place hundreds of clay plants, fish, animals, reptiles, flowers, mushrooms and birds.
As they work, Chopin’s nocturnes play in the background.

''I get to make what I think,'' said fifth-grader Alex Philbrook, not looking up as he paints the scored sides of several alligators, including a baby hatching from a fist-sized egg. ''I get to do my favorite animals.''

''I am always amazed by what the students are able to accomplish,'' said Lucia. ''They take the basic idea that you give them, and they do just do wonderful creative things with it. Sometimes they end up taking something to a whole other place than I expected.''

As the students have worked on the project, they have also been learning about everything from ''line families'' - straight, curved, and angled - to primary colors (highlighted in the tile work), and they have reflected on what tile drawings say about the world today. Their starting point for that discussion has been the Lascaux cave paintings.

''Art is the primary medium of cultural communication,'' said Lucia. ''Without it, we wouldn't be able to learn about or truly know the past.''

Principal Deane Bates said that the mural was a blend of both educational and community resources, and gave the students an opportunity to ''take ownership of their building.''

''It's going to be a great addition to the building,'' he said. ''Joanne (Lucia) is really good at identifying community resources, and we're lucky to have so many parents like Sam (Taylor) in the community that are willing to help out.''

Lucia said that over 15 parents had volunteered so far on the project, which is sponsored by the PTO.

Lucia expects to begin assembling and permanently attaching the mural to the wall near the end of the school year. In coming years, she said, she hopes that other classes will add to it.

''It's not about a finished project,'' she said. ''It's about enjoying the creative process. I think the kids feel very relaxed in exploring this. They're all artists.''