Middle School

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This is a mural project I completed at John Glenn Middle School in Maplewood, MN. I worked with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders (about 150 students) during their art class for two weeks. I had four MCAD students assist me as interns for this project. The wall we painted in the music and language hall was 68 ft long by 8 ft high

DESIGN: The students created most of the illustrations for this wall. I then took those drawings and pieced them together to start a layout. My interns and I finished it off by filling in the landscape and background. We decided to create a multi-cultural parade of music representing parts of the world. We took the phrase, "Music is a Universal Language," and translated it into 10 languages. 

Before

After







Also at John Glenn Middle School, we completed a mural in their ramp corridor that we completed during a summer arts camp the same year! This project covered at its highest point 15 feet and the longest wall being 74ft. About 20 students helped paint this mural in 4 weeks.
DESIGN: The principal wanted to showcase John Glenn pride so the students came up with activities that students at JG could be proud of: Academics, exercise, athletics, chess, taking care of our earth, community, diversity, and individuality!
Before
After

Detail of the mural looking from the west end of the ramp.

The mural below was completed during a summer arts program at Skyview Community School in Oakdale, MN, which is half an elementary school and half a middle school. The principal wanted me to have the students paint a mural on the back wall in a room that both schools share. During the majority of the time the room is being used as a lunch room and it is divided by a foldable wall that separates the two schools. However, for school assemblies and performances, they open up the door and it becomes one large room. The challenge was to design a mural that would look good when the wall was closed but also read as one cohesive image when the wall was opened.
DESIGN: The students wanted to use a metaphor of "travel" or "journey" to represent the transition and growth from elementary to middle school. The elementary side shows a train conducted by the principal riding through the countryside. The train carries students and their teachers focusing on various subjects to the other side. The middle school side is a seascape, with boats coming in from different parts of the world with patterns on the sails representing cultures. The two scenes are joined together in the middle with a lighthouse, lighting the way. The students came across many quotes during their research that they wanted to include on the wall as well. The mural is over 80 feet long and about 5.5 ft high. 15 students participated in the program for 4 weeks.

Before- elementary side
After- middle school 
Detail of the wall

More detail... 


When the project was completed,  principal Chris Hester said, "This mural project is the best thing I have ever approved for my school as principal!" 

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