The City of New York Board of Education, the School Construction Authority, and the Department of Cultural Affairs commissioned this project for the PS/IS 499 elementary school built in Queens.  Titled Oak Seasons, this work of art is located on the south side of the PS/IS 499 school building.  Oak Seasons is a three-story glass curtain wall with incorporated photographic imagery.  This imagery is comprised of two parts.  The first is a contemporary “stained glass” technique created through digital imaging, combining images of creatures fired onto the glass panels by means of a “Float Glass” technique.  The second part of this mural was created by sand-blasting photographic imagery onto the glass.  Each panel consists of two layers of insulated glass.  Each of the three stories contains fourteen panels of glass (two wide by seven panels high), each measuring approximately two feet high by six feet in wide.  Thus, the glass curtain wall for each floor measures approximately fourteen feet high by twelve feet wide.  The entire work of art measures approximately forty-two feet high by twelve feet wide.

The theme of Oak Seasons is the four seasons, i.e., spring, summer, fall, and winter, incorporating photographic images of oak trees from all four seasons of the year.  The winter and spring images of the leaves and trees were made on the same site as the PS/IS 499 school.  These trees were two mature, cherished oak trees that were removed to allow room for the construction of the PS/IS 499 school building.  To create added visual and educational interest, audience interaction from the students was considered in the creation of this work of art.  An element of surprise, i.e., images of whimsical creatures created by means of photograms of leaves and foliage, are enlarged and interspersed throughout the images of oak trees.  The mural is a timeless tribute to the biodiversity indigenous to the region, a celebration of the seasons, and a reverent homage to nature as the foundation of human life.