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The making of a mural |
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Young artists at work on mural tiles
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The Lunenburg Primary School Tile Mural Project
Linda Widstrand was teaching an after-school art program in
the Lunenburg Elementary School in 2005, when she was approached by
the Principal, Mrs. Cynthia Daukantas. Mrs. Daukantas asked Linda
if she would be interested in making a mural in the new Lunenburg
Primary School, which was under construction. The mural would be installed
on the Atrium wall in the school, and Mrs. Daukantas wanted to involve
the children of the new school in the project.
Linda thought it sounded interesting and visited the new Primary School
to see where it would be installed, and what could be done with the
wall. After researching what types of materials that could be used;
and visiting other schools where mural projects which involved the
children had been created, Linda came up with the basic idea for the
wall. A test of the conceptual design was created in Microsoft Visio,
to verify the planned layout for the mural; each individual color's
tile count and the curve radius for each color element.
Basic facts about the Mural:
- The Atrium wall is 63 feet wide by 6 feet tall
- The mural would be based on a Rainbow Theme
- It would be constructed from painted 6 inch by 6 inch
ceramic tiles
- Each Child, School Teachers and Staff painted three tiles
each.
- 1,476 tiles in all…
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Linda Widstrand, artist/designer and
CMWCA Vice President
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In 2006, all the materials were ordered and delivered.
The tiles were drop-shipped to the school because of their weight.
All the acrylic paint, brushes, acrylic sealer and wall tile
setting compound was delivered to Linda or bought from the local
building supply store.
In January 2006, with the help of volunteers from the Lunenburg
PTO, friends of Linda and parents, the painting of the tiles
started. Individual color stations were set up on tables in
the Atrium. The children were brought in, one class at a time,
to paint tiles. Smock-clad children used paint brushes and fingers
to create their own masterpieces. Based on the total count of
tiles, each child, staff and volunteers painted three tiles
each in three different colors. As the mural was designed with
seven colors, there was enough for everyone to let their fantasy
loose in their artwork. When all the tiles were painted, two
coats of clear acrylic varnish were applied to protect the tiles
and provide a soft sheen to their surfaces. |
Saturday, one week before the installation, the whole mural
was laid out on the floor in the Atrium. At this time, Linda
finalized the design and layout of the mural, moving tiles around
within each color group. When the design was completed, every
individual tile was labeled with a row and column identifier.
This would ensure that the tiles would be installed in the correct
order, and would also significantly speed up the installation
process.
The mural was installed during February vacation, when there
wouldn't be any children in the school. This week was chosen
for the safety of the children, since all the installation work
would be conducted from mobile scaffolding. Volunteers helped
install a horizontal board along the wall to provide support
and a reference line for the first row of tiles. Once the support
board was up on the wall, the installation ran like clockwork.
The whole installation of the mural was completed during the
week. All that remained the week after was to remove the support
board, caulk the vertical edges of the mural and do final clean-up.
At this time, the children were back from vacation. They stopped
in awe in front of the mural, and pointed out where their tiles
were installed! |
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Photo of the whole mural
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This project could not have been accomplished without:
- The Children of Lunenburg Primary School
- Artist/Designer:
Linda Widstrand
- Lunenburg Primary School:
The Principal, Teachers and Staff (especially Rich Krafve!)
- Volunteers:
Sara D'Andrea, Megan O'Connell, Judy Dijak,
Ann and Louis Giancola, Kelly Hansel, Chris Holden,
Joanne Landry, Rebecca Lantry, Lamia Stanton,
Alexandra and Lars Widstrand
- LHS Honor Students:
Danielle Chapdelaine, Jeff Kulig, Mike Studivan
- Lunenburg PTO:
Becky Brogna, Laurie Christensen,
Holly Johanssen, Jean Proctor
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