The Santa Cruz Arts Commission approved the concept of a student art project that might be installed on the Water Street Bridge.

The commission asked staff to look for potential funding sources for the project.

“We’re all for it,” said Lorri Kershner, acting Arts Commission chairwoman. "It sounds fantastic."

The project, proposed and headed by Mission Hill Middle School teacher Kathleen Crocetti, involves installing glass or ceramic tiles on lampposts on the Water Street Bridge as part of a unit she is teaching this spring centered around the San Lorenzo River.

The students will learn through visits from local river experts and field trips to the river.

Crocetti said the hands-on experience of working on the project is a good way to complete it.

“I’d like to have them have that experience of doing public art in a public place,” Crocetti told the commission.

City staff said the bridge would need to be power-washed before any art could be installed. Crystal Birns said one estimate was $600 to wash each side of the bridge.

The cost to install each tile is estimated at about $100, and there are 18 lampposts on the bridge.

The city plans to look for funding for the project.