The advanced art students will paint a mural in the art classroom windows starting Wednesday. Students will be using acrylic paint to decorate the double paned windows under the prompt “parts of a whole.”
“The students are allowed to take that whichever direction they really want,” teacher Rebecca Harrison said. “We’re really getting some creative ideas. The concept was to allow students freedom to make their art, but also a uniting theme among all the parts of the whole window that they’re creating.”
This will be the second year students are painting the classroom windows. Its primary purpose is to create a more interesting view that students around the campus can admire.
“The biggest reason that we paint in here is to beautify the art room,” Harrison said. “Since the time the building was created, humidity has gotten between the panes and because the windows are stationary, you can’t clean it out so it fogged the window. This window mural really solves a multitude of problems and offers opportunities all at one time.”
The students will be working in groups of three over the next couple days until its due date on Friday. The groups allow artists to work collaboratively on their ideas, as well as develop teamwork within the class.
“The students get the opportunity to do all the fun things that we’ve already talked about and mentioned, and work collaboratively together,” Harrison said. “It kinda eases them into the process of how we work in this room where we’re working together and giving each other feedback and critiques and become better artists.”
In the past, students have responded well to the assignment. Despite the difficulty of painting acrylic on glass, this project has been successful in numerous ways.
“I am really proud of the students this year,” Harrison said. “The ideas that they’ve shared with me so far as they’re doing their planning page look really creative.”
The mural creates unity within the art room and allows students to express themself. Students across the campus are able to see the mural all year round until exams in May.
“I feel like it brings everyone together because it’s based on the concept, ‘parts of a whole’,” senior Grace Moye said. “All the different ideas come together in one huge mural, I think that’s pretty cool. The whole school can see it outside the window, and it brings everyone together, not just in art.”
The project allows students to work together in a positive environment and encourages teamwork. Collaboration has been an important theme of the mural project.
“I like being able to work with artists as a group and make one big piece,” sophomore Mia Hayes said. “My favorite part of art so far is the people that I get to work with. We have a very positive and encouraging setting in our art room and in individual groups.”
