Usually, I paint in schools and most people upon arrival have never heard of me. And, all too often, when I leave schools, most of the faculty still have neither heard of me nor introduced themselves. It's a mystery to me how and why teachers don't introduce themselves to a guest in their schools who's creating a mural, but that's the world we live in these days.
It was not the case at Walnut Elementary.
When I walked into the office, I spotted my name written on the daily calendar. I was expected! The women in the office knew who I was and why I was there. It was a delightful new experience.
I sat down in the office to wait for the end of school, and was quickly joined by an excited music teacher, also thrilled to meet me. She, too, had used my clip art for years. I knew right away I was in a place where I was happy to find myself.
The principal soon escorted me into a classroom with a dozen or more teachers. And, that's when I learned what they had in mind. They didn't want one big mural like I usually do. They wanted small murals about one yard by two yards. They want murals for each grade level (kindergarten through grade five), plus music, the library, the gym and the art room.
I get to decorate the school!
Most of those present had ideas of what they'd like for their murals. And, I assured them that I could do whatever they wanted. The first mural up would be at the entrance to the gym. It wasn't just because the P.E. teacher told the others present that they needed to check out my website if they hadn't yet. Of course, that kind of endorsement never hurts. The P.E. teacher was retiring at the end of the school year. So, his mural had to be the first completed.
The librarian lingered around after the meeting to give me a tour of her domain. The library was two stories tall, but only things on the ground level could be used. There were huge empty walls above us. I'd mentioned in our group meeting that I salivated over the idea of painting a library. The idea appealed to my long-term clip art fan as well. She said she'd start looking for grant money to get a tree house painted on her walls. I might just find myself driving to Walnut Elementary, surrounded by the beautiful Ohio countryside, for a long time to come.
Unlike most of my murals, I painted the mural for the gym all by myself. It didn't take long to realize I really do prefer the community experience. But, since this was painted during school, the whole student body was able to watch it take shape. And, like most elementary schools where kids are not supposed to talk in the halls, the kids just couldn't stop oohing and ahhing. It just wasn't possible to not ask questions. I loved it. I can't say all the teachers did.
Another mother, with two daughters and an extra, asked me if I'd ever painted at senior citizen centers. Actually, I've written to several of them but not one of them ever replied. As it turned out, her husband was high up in some senior citizen center chain. So, I might just have a new connection to bring me into a whole new kind of community. But, it'll have to wait till I'm done with crackers and lemonade. (My next blog)