The Tree That Grew a Forest

This lone tree was the inspiration for the last mural at Sherman Oaks Elementary this year.  The height of this empty wall was daunting but we started out by just paying someone to spray the whole wall in a misty light blue.  Then as the day for painting got closer my anxiety over how to paint trees on a wall 25' high grew and grew.  They say we resolve a lot of issues in our sleep and one morning I woke up with the solution.  I put a roller on a 6' extension pole and taped it firmly to my orange picker that extends another 12' and voila I had giant evergreens filling the wall.  I love the challenge of working with our school walls!  The drab corner by the kindergarten yard came to life with animals and wildflowers.  The third graders did a great job of painting all the details under 6 feet.

Lesson Learned: If rolling on paint is fast, spraying is even faster!  Some walls would benefit by just being sprayed with a base coat first, especially when they are very high.

Brighten the corner where you are!

Sherman Oaks Elementary wanted to brighten their school play yard and brighten it we did!  Over 100 fourth and fifth graders worked on 175 feet of beige walls during six weeks and were amazed at what they achieved.

It was fun to listen to the kids chatting as they painted and get a peek into the world of modern youth.  It seemed like there was no end to mid morning and lunch recess which brought lots of words of encouragement and appreciation from little kids.  They especially liked the rainbow.

Besides, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the next most frequent comment was, "Why did we wait this long?"  I'm hoping leading them in this project will inspire the staff and parents to continue to brighten the corner where they are.  They have the talent!

Every project has it's ups and downs.  While I waited for permission slips to be signed allowing students to paint I began painting the background alone.  That stucco was mean!  After two days and 6 hours of hard work I realized what I had once known:  there are different kinds of rollers and the skinny, cheap one is not the one for stucco!  Meanwhile I was talking myself into a depression.  "Why am I here?  Where are the kids?....blah, blah, blah."  Finally I woke up and remembered why I do this and suddenly I started hearing a song in my head that wouldn't go away:  "Baby, you're a firework!  Come on let your colors burst!"and my whole outlook changed.  Thank you, Katy Perry for that song!