The Final Chapter: Mural 2010 - 2011

Finished!

Ribbon cutting

Signing

Red Velvet and Chocolate Cake to celebrate - delicious!

Kindergartner stops in the hallway as I'm passing and asks, "Why do you paint on the walls?"
Me:  "Well, ...because it's fun."
Kindergartner,  with a worried tone responds,  "Are you allowed to?"
Me:  "Yes, I got permission."
Kindergartner, adding doubtfully, "OK."

If I'm totally honest in answering the first question,  "fun" plays only a small role in why I muralize wall real estate.  Besides growing my students' artistic skills, the  main reason I keep painting our walls is because art has the power to make us think and question.  It has the power to affect the way we perceive  public and private spaces.

Since I'm a quiet person, visual art is the voice I use to encourage and lift the spirits of my school community.  It's gratifying that the rather dull hike down the hallway formerly dubbed "the tunnel,"  is now an inviting walk towards the newly christened "crossroads".

 Heartfelt thanks go to my art club kids who helped transform our space with their time and talents, and to a supportive administration who really does allow us to color on the walls.

Mural Chapter 14: Text and Image

Lettering with a liner brush makes a difference

Text and image, we unfold the meaning of the written word with marriage to a strong visual.  This year’s mural, paired with Jeremiah 6:16 yields a rich and refreshing look at Auguste Macke’s painting “Vegetable Fields”.  The verse reads: 

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it...”

This past Friday and Saturday, I painted a portion of the verse across the top and took care of a few minor mural details.  Frankly, lettering isn’t something I do well - I used to watch my Grandpa letter signs for a living,  fascinated by the rhythmic flow of his brush across the surface.  My lettering skills fall short in comparison to my Grandfather’s; I’m just happy it’s legible. We unveil the mural tomorrow!

Mural Chapter 13 - Barefoot Endings

  The Closers and me

There are people who like to paint barefoot, and others who like to paint wearing shoes. I'm a fairweather barefoot painter, generally preferring to feel the floor beneath me provided it's not too cold.  It's comfortable working thus, and it's somehow more friendly and informal. So despite the cozy carpet, this afternoon feels bittersweet. I'll miss the camaraderie of working easily side by side sharing a common purpose. We've worked in everything from companionable silence to fits of giggles.  We've shared stories, jokes and dreams.   We've worked through artistic issues, deciphering Auguste Macke's loose brushwork and interpreting color passages to the best of our abilities.  With no apologies to Mr. Macke, we've worked to interpret the spirit of the painting rather than create a Xerox copy.   So even when it's too cold to work barefooted, I'll miss the kind of teaching that invites one to kick off one's shoes and smell the roses; or paint the vegetables in our case.


You're invited to attend our unveiling on Tuesday, May 10 at 3:00 pm in the central office hallway. After our ribbon cutting ceremony, we'll celebrate in the art room with punch and cake.  I'll wear my party shoes for the occasion.

Mural Chapter 12 - The End is in Sight

Mural Chapter 12: So close!

Auction obstacle course helped warm us up for painting session

Our progress was slightly hampered last week as only half my students remembered to stay and paint after school.   With one more scheduled mural session, the list of what needs to happen looms rather large on the agenda.  A full court press to completely resolve several bare patches of gessoed wall rests in the hands of the last group of assigned students, my closers.  Comprised mostly of the older kids, I’m banking on their abilities to thoughtfully interpret Macke’s loose brushstrokes into color shapes.  I think we can do it, and I’m praying that we will finish strong and on time.     

Mural Chapter Eleven and the Last Tube of Paint

Painting Edges

Undaunted by the lack of Pthalo Blue, student works on blue passages

Student displays a very well-loved pie tin of paint

Mural Chapter Eleven

Note to self - check at the end of every session to be sure you have enough  paint.  If you're foolhardy enough to ignore this tenet, palette gymnastics become necessary to move forward.  Today I'm a  sadder but wiser art teacher who plans on making one last shopping trip to pick up some more Pthalo Blue. In the meantime, thanks to the perserverence of one of my students, we made due today by adjusting Ultramarine Blue.   

Mural - Chapter Ten

Brush Curlers help reclaim crisp edges

Mural Chapter 10

After two long weeks of not looking at the mural, we paint twice this week.  Wednesday, Chapter 10 involved fine-tuning the lower left and right of the painting.  Tomorrow, we tackle those pesky white spots showing through the cinder block and deal more significantly with the cabbage patch on the lower left.

Mural - Chapters Eight and Nine

Painting shapes of color in the foilage

Another student who enjoys applying paint with fingers!

Wednesday, Chapter Eight

Thursday, Chapter Nine

Two back -to- back painting sessions this week helped get us  on track.  We won’t paint for the next two weeks  due to mini-term and then spring break.  So, while would I normally experience a mild sense of panic  at not touching the mural for 14 days:  this year, no fear!  (At least that’s what I’m telling myself.)

Mural Chapter Seven

Mural Chapter Seven

A sea of pie tins

Our pie tin palettes multiplied; they literally covered the floor this week.

Mural Chapter Six

Mural Chapter Six

Pie tins make excellent palettes

Let us not forget hydration and sustenance when painting

Seventh grader giving pthalo blue a workout

Victory smile - an exact match!

Beginning to look like smurfs

 Most art club students now have one painting rotation under their belts, and it shows in their ability to move forward.  I  don't have to remind them anymore to add  gloss medium to their paints and use  palette knives for mixing.  They're looking with keener eyes at color and brush technique resulting in good solutions.  All in all, we had a great session today even though my ears were assaulted by a random screamo song quietly slipped into the end of the music queue - hmmm, I really need to re-examine my playlist.

Mural - Chapter five

This senior really got to know viridian today



Working on the pathway




In the "zone" with phatho blue





Mural Chapter Five



Since we were short a person, I got to paint today and fingers worked best!

We are about halfway in our work sessions, but probably 1/3 done.  Yep, we're a little behind, but I'll wait to stress out later in March.  We have a double session coming up soon and that should get us back on track. 

Mural - Chapter four



Seventh grader painting mountain details





Honestly, the cookies in no way contributed to this picture...
these girls are just naturally fun

Today, my art club students devoured Valentine's day cookies with efficient enthusiasm before jumping into the main course of painting.  I believe it gave them an extra burst of "energy" as they worked.  It also didn't hurt the pace any to tune into some Switchfoot and Keith Urban music.   I know I should have  brought in something more virtuous like carrot sticks and apple wedges, but those cookies really needed to vacate my home premises before  I ate them all single-handed. 



Chapter Four



Mural - Chapter three continued

Chapter Three - We're  getting there

This is a peek at where we stopped last week.  I covered the painting with our orange sheet before I remembered to pull out the camera and record our progress.

Mural - Chapter three

This seventh grader nailed color mixing



Seventh grader learning  how to apply paint "wet on wet"



It's a surprise! This is what you see when we're not painting.

Mural painting at Lake Center is as close to a team sport as we come.  Experienced older kids work alongside the younger kids, forging a healthy link between different grade levels.  If I can start a motivated student painting in junior high, by the time they're seniors in high school with five or six murals under their belts, they know how to make their paint brushes sing.  

Unfortunately, since I forgot to take a picture before we replaced the cover this week, I'll have to post the results of session three next time alongside session four.  

Slow but sure - mural session two



After session 2

 The challenge of painting a mural in a school hallway that doubles as an indoor track - well let's just say we're very careful about where we place water and paints.  Like a spilled bottle of molasses, however, stray bits of mural stuff slowly spread to occupy a larger section of hallway real estate as a session unfolds.  Kudos to the girls' softball team for deftly navigating our obstacle course on a weekly basis. 

North light is a different animal

Chapter One

A  finger works pretty well to
interpret Macke's painting technique

 My art club kids had their first crack at painting the mural last week.  Although I had worked out recipes for the more prominant colors in our reproduction poster, as the kids wielded their palette knives and paint tubes, I saw that all my recipe colors appeared slightly off the mark.   I forgot to factor in the yellowish cast of the school's hallway lighting compared to the north light at home by which I made my color swatches!  Oh my...live and learn I guess.  We adjusted for the warmer tones, and everything looks fine now.  Today we should have had our second session, but how can one not appreciate another snow day ?

You can never have too much Gesso

Students practice our mural on a mini canvas

I traced our mural onto the wall in preparation for our first painting session scheduled this week using a handy projector and transparency.  When I returned to the art room to put everything away, I glanced at our reproduction poster spread across my desk.  Something looked wrong.  With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I realized that I had just spent the last hour drawing our mural carefully and completely backwards.  I had been so caught up in positioning and size, that I lost sight of the forest for the trees.  Recalibrating my departure time, I implemented Plan B which involved the application of a liberal coat of gesso.  To my dismay, when the gesso dried, the permanent marker lines bled through to such an extent that I had no other choice but to resort to Plan C - yet another liberal application of gesso.  Finally dry with just a ghost of the incorrect lines coming through, I retraced the picture correctly.  My one hour job turned into three, but at least it’s up there ready for the seventeen pairs of hands  ready to bring the wall to life with an interpretation of Auguste Macke’s “Vegetable Fields.”