Designed by freshman art student Peyton Vega, the mural will have two human-shaped figures holding up a heart that reads “Everyone Deserves Kindness.” Vega said it is a phrase her father tells her daily. The mural also includes a sun, which she said symbolizes happiness as the sun is the source of happiness.
Vega said that when people see the mural, she hopes they see that “no matter who you are or what you do, you deserve kindness.”
The project is the brainchild of GHS art teacher Angela Morin, who said she wanted to find a way to incorporate student art on a public display. That is when she began working with the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board, a seven-member board that manages city art programs, including the displaying of murals.
“I thought that it would be a great opportunity for us to kind of give back to the community by creating something for them that they can appreciate,” Morin said.
Amanda Still, Georgetown Arts and Culture board member, said the arts board was excited when Morin approached them with the idea of creating a student lesson around public art, adding that the location next to the library was the perfect spot since one of the library’s main objectives is learning.
“Student artwork is very popular,” Still said. “The community loves to get behind student artwork and helping the students with their educational opportunities and supporting the arts.”
The mural was to be completed by students spread across six GHS art classes; they began working on the mural in early March with plans to complete the project by the end of the year, Morin said.
But GISD announced March 31 that it will now be closed through May 1, with hopes students will be back in the classroom May 4.
“If we do not get another postponement, we will continue to work on it after May 4,” Morin said. “If we continue distance learning to the end of the school year, we will wait until it is safe to continue the mural. Safety is of the utmost importance, currently.”
Students were painting the mural on several pieces of parachute fabric, which is similar to a canvas in that it can be easily rolled and stored to be worked on over several weeks in the classroom. After that, the design will be sketched on the fabric, filed in a paint-by-numbers format and pieced together before placed on the wall, Morin said.
Even with a postponement, Morin said, the message still rings strong.
“The message that I want to share with the community—and I think the students are sharing with their theme—is that we are all connected,” Morin said. “Age, race, wealth, sexual orientation and religious creed differences can't hide the fact that we all deserve kindness and we are all human.”
