Oh,The PlacesYou’ll Go

                                              Oh, the Places You'll Go!

So excited to return to Sherman Oaks for one more mural before school starts.  The parent association wants to beautify the wall facing the kindergarten gate.  I wish I could be there on their first day of school.

Welcoming "Made in the Shade" to the neighborhood

     All finished with the new mural "Made in the Shade" at Sherman Oaks Elementary!  It just fits in so beautifully under the large graceful Camphor trees that line the street.  As people passed by on their morning walks they expressed so much appreciation for the touch of brightness that the mural is bringing to them and their neighborhood. 

Lesson learned:  When trying to paint at great heights stay away from detailed images that require you to climb on crazy ladders putting your life in danger and your back out of whack.  Instead, go for a creative more spontaneous theme that can be done with a roller on an extension pole.  There are no mistakes with trees; they grow in all different sizes, directions and colors.  Extension poles are sold in the paint department of Home Depot and Lowe's.

Made in the Shade

     Spring has brought old friends back into my life with an invitation to return to Sherman Oaks Elementary to add a little life to a wall facing the street near a reunion gate.  It has also given my newly retired husband a chance to help out and discover the joy of working with kids on murals.  With the help of the children in the summer camp program we are well on our way to finishing.  This two story building is surrounded by beautiful tall trees and we wanted to incorporate that into our design.  First we had the wall spray painted with a blue background and then we started working on our trees with an amazing

extension pole that I found at Lowe's.  It stretches up to 24 feet!  Maybe I won't have to climb up on any more extension ladders anymore.  Yay!  It's always exciting to be invited to return to a school to continue the work of beautifying our L.A. schools.

Reach for the Stars

Wow!  Time flies while you're recovering from two knee replacements but, thank God, time heals all kinds of wounds and 2013 came with a new lease on life for this somewhat worn out body!   In the fall I was back to volunteer teaching art once a week at my old school.  The kids all wanted to know when we would be creating another mural so we came up with the idea of the fifth grade doing a mural to beautify the entry of our school and dedicating it as their graduation gift.  Once a week, with some time off for trips and holidays, we worked together to inspire the student body to "Reach for the Stars" with our own version of Van Gogh's Starry Night.  We are all very pleased with the outcome and hope it will be an encouragement to all the future students and parents that pass through these gates.