The third graders at Sherman Oaks were looking at the dreary 120 foot wall outside their classroom and decided somebody had to do something about it. They called me to help them create a mural and chose "A River Runs Through It" as their theme.
Inspired by a picture of a river running through Death Valley I began looking
through my collection of art books to link our experience to a famous artist.
Lo and behold I came across this painting by Paul Klee called Das Lamm.
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The use of lines and tonal variation of color lent themselves so well to the movement
of the river and the mountains. I wanted to keep our technique simple in tune with
the abilities of their age and this was the perfect inspiration for that. Twenty hours
and 150 children later we transformed the wall into a joyful river full of fish
reminding us that there is life even in the desert.
