Looking to the road ahead, artist John Pitman Weber, who is retiring this year after teaching for more than 40 years at Elmhurst College, wanted to leave something precious behind.

When Weber retires he will leave a trail of colorful mosaics decorating several buildings on the campus, and the gift of a spirit of cooperation built among the students and alumni who worked with Weber to design and create the works of art.

Elmhurst College is not the only place where Weber has left his imprint. He also has created public works of art in mosaic, paint and cement relief in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, England, France and Nicaragua. Though mosaics are a specialty of his, Weber said he not had the chance to teach students about the art form.

“I wanted to leave something very special for the college, and I wanted to have a chance to teach mosaics,” Weber said Tuesday at a dedication of the murals. (See photos of event)

The name given to the groups of mosaics is “Ga-Du-Gi,” a Cherokee phrase that translates to “All Working Together.”

The group of about a dozen alumni and a dozen students started working on the project in August and finished it in December. They sought input from the college community on the content of the murals.

“They are designed to fit the spaces, visually and thematically; to be appropriate to the building as well as to the character and history of the college,” Weber wrote in a brochure about the project.

Danielle Dobies, a junior, designed a mural that was installed in the Schaible Science building. She also led visitors on a tour of the murals, pointing out that ones in the science building incorporated scientific references such as a dog in honor of Pavlov’s Dog.

“We wanted to highlight physics and psychology,” Dobies said.

Another in the art building featured flowers reminiscent of the works of Georgia O’Keeffe and, in reference to popular culture, an image of Lucille Ball.

“I think they’re beautiful. There is so much knowledge in them,” said Addie Wagner, who came to see the murals because her daughter, Danielle Wagner, is one of the students who helped create them.

Alumni who took part in the project also were excited about it.

“Learning how to do it was very interesting,” said Meghan Hilty. “It was fun working with my fellow alumni and being part of the school again.”