Fifth-grader Faith Hernandez, 10, ran to a wall after school on a sunny May afternoon, eager to start painting a new mural with her classmates at Sunkist Elementary School, the second major work of art on campus.
“The most exciting part is being able to paint something that I saw people painting last year,” Faith said. “I feel like I have a special role in something that I really love.”
Faith’s instructor for the day was local artist Carla Roque. Along with a dozen other students, she was to paint a mural on a wall that read: “If you can dream it, you can do it!” »
Roque gathered all the students together and explained to them that they needed to put plastic coverings on their shoes and put on oversized white T-shirts to keep the paint away from their day clothes. Roque then demonstrated the correct technique for applying paint to a brush and then putting it on the wall.
“It will be different from painting on paper,” Roque said. “You’re going to want to rub a little, in short strokes.”
Then they got to painting, filling in bright colors around the letters to make the mural a must-see.
“It’s really powerful for them to have their work on display in a public space for everyone to see,” said director Stephanie Shumate.
Students filled every corner of the mural with an array of colors. They also decorated around the mural with chalk art. In all, it took them about an hour to complete their task.
Over the past two years, Anaheim Elementary School District campuses have had murals painted in each school to liven up spaces and leave positive messages for students. Last school year saw the second set of murals. The new kid at Sunkist Elementary School faces the schoolyard courts.
Shumate said students “have a lot of hype around” the mural. And the school takes the time to talk about the meaning of the message.
Fourth-grader Leslie Tapia, 10, made art at school but “never worked on a piece” as large as the mural she and her classmates will pass by daily for years.
“It’s very exciting,” she said.
The mural is part of the district’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, which allows students to participate in a variety of after-school activities.
As they finished class, some students put paint on their hands and marked each other’s shirts with handprints for “memories.”
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