Leeds College of Art Logo - Laurel Leaves

The Leeds College of Art mosaic:

Early 20th century mosaic above the entrance of Leeds College of Art designed by Gerald E.Moira in 1903 and made by Rust’s Vitreous Mosaic Company

The mosaic has a colour palette of reds, blues, greens and yellow core. 

The red from the previous designs could have come from the mosaic, so using the blue or yellow core could be an option.

The mosaic also has images of Laurel leaves, which itself symbolises a few things...

- Creativity - ''Laurel leaves were commonly put under pillows at night to gain inspiration through dreams and its intoxicating properties are associated with prophetic and poetic inspiration.''

- Cleansing powers and magical attributes - ''associated with purification and was seen as a plant with powers of immortality. Laurel supposedly awakens awareness and past life memories, stimulates psychic awareness, health and the powers of divination.''


- Peace and Protection - ''Today laurel is seen as a symbol of peace. It also indicates a power over the passions and is thought to protect from the influence of evil spirits and to give protection from lightening.''


- ACHIEVEMENT - ''It has long been a symbol of victory. Laurel was given as a symbol to the winner in Pythian games. Masons consider the laurel symbol to signify the hopeful expectation of success in the search for the True Word. In the bible, laurel is an emblem of prosperity and fame. In Christianity it is said to symbolize the resurrection of Christ and the triumph of humanity. It is also the source of the word Baccalaureate and of poet laureate.''

http://www.wickedblog.com/2007/09/12/laurel-leaves-symbolism-and-meaning/