Saturday, November 20, 2010

America the Beautiful




       Halleluyah!  We did it!  The last 3 murals form a modern "triptych" of "America the Beautiful" on the playground.  They are near the Superstars outdoor assembly area and give us an excuse to sing a patriotic song and, for English language learners, to illustrate and give meaning to the words. 







 The excitement every time we finished 
one part  was so much fun to see.  Each mural became the new favorite.  It is interesting to hear the children talk about the details they enjoy the most, the questions they ask and the pondering about the significance of each mural. 

Lesson Learned: Sometimes SIMPLE is better!  These murals were done so quickly, required no projecting or super careful detail work and they were amazing...use the KISS method sometimes, Keep it simple, Silly.











Saturday, October 30, 2010

Stories Inspire Us

The 4th mural of our 2010 beautification grant was done on the outside wall of the library which is visible to parents and children from the primary reunion gate.  The wall was covered in pipes and electrical boxes that were very unsightly and we built them right into the mural about storytelling.

Lesson learned: When painting 15 feet in the air be sure to strap yourself to something secure and use a very sturdy ladder.  It is better for your neck to be right up there on eye level than to be craning your neck at a close distance to see what you are painting.
       

Friday, September 10, 2010

The word is out!

I'm excited to discover people are visiting the school and catching the vision!  Children are positively affected by the way their school looks and we need to come together as a concerned community to do something about it.  The principal and parents at Haskell Elementary School agreed with me and asked me to come in during the summer to brighten up their playground with some color.  It made my day when I got that call!  Con mucho gusto!  The enthusiasm when school opened in September was off the charts and now they are contemplating another mural.  This time we hope to get the whole community involved so they can see they have the power to do for themselves.  

Lesson learned: Pick a wall that is not in full sun if it is summer in L.A.!  February and March are much cooler and the sun feels good.  Only one word comes to mind:  BRUTAL

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Enjoying the Fruits of Our Labor

       
        The third mural of our mural grant, entitled "Enjoying the Fruits of Our Labor",  was done with the children during the summer school session.  The outdoor lunch pavilion where children in Southern California eat most of the year was a perfect place to encourage the kids to eat healthy food and reflect on where it comes from.
      

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

What's one more mural?


       
      This spring we were taken by surprise wahen a group from Ameri Corps came to our school offering to do a community beautification work day.  The plan was to plant flowers, clean up and paint murals with volunteers for about 4 to 6 hours.  Over 150 people showed up and it was quite a huge project.  I met with the planning committee and we decided where they could add murals to the school.  One particular dream of mine was to do a whole section of 10 classrooms in a U shape with a grassy area in the middle.  On this work day the volunteers basically finished the whole background for the ocean, mountains and deserts of California.  
        
      Although this wasn't on our mural schedule we decided that it couldn't wait.  Part of the Ameri Corps agreement was that the city would spray their murals with a clear anti-graffiti coating soon afterward so if we wanted to add anything to it we had to get to work fast!   A week later my volunteer friend Sue and I began to work with the children from first grade on the Ocean mural.  They used brushes, decorative rollers and sponges to add all the detail found in sea life.  


       
       After two long days we moved on to the Mountains mural with the third grade.  They worked enthusiastically chatting about all the animals and foliage that grow in our mountains.
    
  Two more days passed and amidst an early heat wave we were determined to finish  the Desert.  The second grade made this wall their own adding all manner of cactus, animals and texture to the background.
    
           It was utterly amazing to see the transformation of a whole section of classrooms!  Talk about WOW!   The effort put out by some 250 students with 2 volunteers in 36 hours was a real testimony to the school of the power of a community working together with a purpose.

Lesson Learned: Using textured rollers and sponges for painting details adds life to a simple mural and children of all ages can participate.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Where do we all come from?

                                    
         Enthusiasm for beautifying our school was beginning to grow with each new mural.  At the same time budget cuts in the school district made it impossible to pay me to teach art.  The joy of teaching those children art and seeing their enthusiasm and progress made it obvious that I had to volunteer at least one day a week to continue the art program I had worked so hard to establish for two years.  To augment their experience we sought a grant to continue painting murals and were awarded another beautification grant from the city of Los Angeles.  This time it was specifically for doing a number of murals and someone picked the lucky number 7 out of a hat!  That was quite a challenge.  Beginning in March we worked around rain, heat and wind to try to paint on our murals one day a week.  The goal was to have as many children as possible participate in the project to "make it their own".  
        The first two murals were about the history of immigration in the U.S.A.  beginning with the pilgrims and moving on through 400 years ending with looking to the future.  It was done on two walls of adjoining buildings that are visible to parents when they arrive to pick up their children at the garden gate.  One of the fun challenges was to incorporate the pipes that were left on the walls after a retrofitting into the picture.  We even had to have an art history lesson about Diego Rivera while working on the one below!
T