A recently completed mosaic called The Tree of Life created by artist Carlos Juan Pinto will be open to the public on April 23, 2010, on the rooftop playground of the Rivendell Montessori Pre-School, 277 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn at the corner of President Street.

Brooklyn-based artist Pinto, donated his work on the project, integrating designs by the school’s children into the mosaic, which honors the Montessori method of observing and supporting the natural development of children.

The project is a collaboration between the artist, The Rivendell School and Charas, Inc.

Pinto, originally from Guatemala, has lived and worked in New York City for ten years. His art is as expressive as his native and lush, colorful Central American nation and draws the viewer into a world of play, responsibility and seriousness. His legacy, as he sees it, is to be known as an artist who adopts a Green Revolution.

The Rivendell School was formerly known as The Children’s House of Park Slope. For over 25 years, it has provided Montessori education to pre-primary children, encouraging them to gain a sense of their own power and ability as learners, and as social and emotional beings.

Concurrent with the opening at the Rivendell School, there will be an exhibition across the street at The Crooked Trail Café 272 3rd Ave. (also, corner of President St.), featuring more of Juan Carlos Pinto’s work, and photographs by photographer Juan Noguera about the making of the mosaic.