Creek’s National Art Honor Society (NAHS), in association with students from AP Studio and Artisan Workshop, is working to paint a mural in a small group room of the IC Cafe. Students come in during their off periods to paint sections of the vibrant piece, working on a color-by-number type system.
NAHS plans to finish the mural by spring break. “We weren’t sure about how long it would take to complete a mural at that size in 47 minute increments,” club sponsor and visual arts teacher Alissandra Seelaus said. “I love it because I can see my students enjoying something that…takes a lot of organization to make.”
The artwork, depicting a natural scene of blue jays and insects amidst green and blue foliage, was designed by NAHS senior officer Annie Nuetzal.
“We held an open call for entries so I entered and mine got selected,” Nuetzel said.
According to Seelaus, she was happy to sponsor a mural that depicted a scene of Colorado nature, rather than a Creek-themed piece.
“We didn’t want to design something that was Creek themed because there’s so much of that at our school,” Seelaus said. “The idea is that we could paint a similar small mural in each of those study spaces throughout the new IC facility.”
Nuetzel thought a scene of nature was well-needed in the common space. “I don’t really have that much school spirit,” she said. “I’m just more interested in nature subjects.”
Seelaus was quite happy with the amount of involvement from the entire visual arts department, and said they’re doing good work to expose the purpose of the NAHS. The time spent painting goes towards each student’s accumulation of community service hours.
“They’re killing it,” she said. “A mural is a very public facing way to bring attention to the fact that we have incredible artists who are capable of doing cool things.”
One painter, junior Zaylix Terhune, came in during eighth period on Feb. 29 to paint. “The purpose of this is just to bring a little bit of color into the study rooms, so they’re not so boring, to make them feel more comforting,” he said. “I just like helping out and I thought it’d be really fun to just help paint a mural.”
Terhune said it would be great later on to look back at the mural and be proud to have played a part.
“I get to say, ‘I painted that,’” he said. “That’s a pretty cool flex.”
Seelaus believes that mural painting is a useful skill that allows many artists to display their art to the public.
“Lots of public facing businesses and things want murals because it makes their space more beautiful and inviting,” Seelaus said. “It’s nice to give them an experience like this with structure that they can then use their creative skills for the betterment of the community.”
The majority of the numbered sections have been completed, but Seelaus says that time-consuming line work and detailing is yet to come.
Regardless of time spent, she is still happy about how the color-by-number system has made it an easier community project.
“It’s really empowering to demystify a process that looks really scary and hard and difficult,” Seelaus said. “I think it’s intimidating in some cases to paint something that big, but then you feel really empowered when you’re done.”
