The neighborhood around Seattle University was a blank canvas when Danila Rumold went in search of just the right site for a community mural.
“This might be a good spot,” she remarked more than once as she toured the area last December.
Rumold, who taught in SU’s Fine Arts program, pondered several locations
before she met Greg Imel, principal at Bailey Gatzert Elementary
School. Imel told her he’d welcome a new mural and an opportunity for
community collaboration.
“It takes an invitation for a collaboration
to begin,” Rumold says. “I thought art would be another nice element to
bring to Bailey Gatzert and continue to build that relationship.”
The
mural is the latest symbol of the partnership between SU and Bailey
Gatzert, a collaboration inspired by the Seattle
University Youth Initiative. With a home for the mural in her
sightline, Rumold geared up to teach her spring class called Community
Art and Mural Painting Techniques. It’s a new spin on service-learning
projects at SU, one of dozens the university offers students for greater
community engagement.
“I’m impressed with the work of those who collaborated on the mural and
the collective impact it will have on the students at Bailey Gatzert.”Thirteen SU students participated in Rumold’s
11-week course. Sophomore Andy Vanderbilt did some of the
early legwork for the project. He scouted the neighborhood just south of
campus, photographing buildings and sights to capture the colors and
mood of the area that could be conveyed in the mural.
Four themes emerged: community, curiosity, creativity and ambition. The mural makers chose to present the themes in numerous languages to reflect the multilingual neighborhood.
As the students learned about the history of mural making, they visited
murals around the city and discovered public art involves a
collaborative, community-driven process. They participated in a meeting
of the Central District Public Art Project for a glimpse at how that
group planned art for the Central District.
Vincentian Brother Mark
Elder, a visiting muralist from Chicago’s DePaul University, spoke to
the students about the role of the artist as peacemaker in community
art. He talked about creating public art with socio-political, community
and religious themes and the dialogue it can produce.
Bailey Gatzert students, their parents and teachers became the driving force for the mural class.
“What
do you like about school?” and “What do you want to be when you grow
up?” were among the questions they asked Kathleen West’s K–5 art
classes. “One wanted to be a minister. Another an artist and another a
nurse. It was great to see them draw their hopes and dreams for the
future and include them in the mural,” says West.
Artist renderings depicting tetherball, four square and kickball, which resonated with the students are found on the mural, along with jumping rope, hula hooping, flowers and sunshine. The mural features cameos of respected leaders Wing Luke, the Vietnamese Trung sisters, Roberto Maestas and Chief Sealth, along with Principal Imel and several popular Bailey Gatzert teachers.
It was no small feat to build the 8-by-28-foot mural. The class
constructed seven canvas panels made of marine plywood to keep the
project manageable. Once transported to Bailey Gatzert, youngsters could
watch the mural artists at work and have a chance to use handcarved
rubber stamps to add flowers to a blooming cherry tree, a symbol of
growth and hopefulness. In the summer Bailey Gatzert hosted a
celebration in the school garden where the community mural, titled
“Lifting Up Our Children,” now lives.
“I’m very pleased with the result,” Imel says. “I’m impressed with the work of those who collaborated on the mural and the collective impact it will have on the students at Bailey Gatzert.”
Adds Imel, “What I like most is that the kids love it. They see images they can relate to in it.”