This is the seventh in a series of Legacy Posts about projects that happened early on in my art classroom. Recently I was able to tap into some archived photos that I thought had long ago disappeared. I’ve decided to write some blog posts incorporating these photos to share the memories and/or inspire others to try these projects. Some are very dear to me because I took risks with my students and the end result was big learning for all of us, especially me. Also, in my nineteenth year of teaching now, I realize that ideas, projects, and programs come and go, and sometimes come back again. These art projects are just a memory now, and I believe they are worth remembering and preserving. The first post in the series can be found here, and the rest of them follow. Simply search Once Upon A Time in the categories on the front page of the blog.

The Art Club murals were completed during the 2008/9 school year, one hour each week after school. When I think about the time constraints within that last sentence, I can’t help but be impressed by the work of the seventh and eighth grade students that year. The murals featured in this Art Club Murals series were the brainstorm of small groups of middle school artists who developed and executed them from idea to fruition. The first is the Lost & Found mural located in a former closet across from the cafeteria.

The artists working on this space decided to reflect the rural communities of Mendon and Upton by creating a barn/field scene within the mural. I remember working with them on one-point perspective as they tried to make the fence look realistic. Everything else from the almost obligatory sun-in-the-corner to the color palette were pure middle school invention. After the mural was complete, I remember times when there were so many coats and backpacks in the space you couldn’t even see the artwork. But, in the spirit of form follows function, that’s okay!