Getting Materials

6/16/2025
And so the project begins! My mom and I drove over to the nearest town, and got our materials. This was exciting; having the actual materials made all the work and planning I did feel worth it.

Priming the Wood

6/18/2025
Now that I had my materials, I could begin working! My friend and I set up at the site where I'd be storing the panels, and started to put primer on the wood. We set up on the ground, and quickly found out that the summer breeze was not our friend. It blew bits of leaves into our paint! We had to work fast, and quickly put the panels away as soon as we got a nice coat of paint on them. I was lucky to have a helper so we could beat the wind.

First Paint Day

7/7/2025
In order for the students to add their parts to the mural, I needed to first create the backdrop. I gave myself around two hours for this, how hard could it be? As it turned out, painting in the hot summer sun was a lot harder than expected. The paint got gummy, and my lines got messy. It took over DOUBLE the time I expected! Luckily, I learned a lot from this, and next time, painted in the evening.

Making Palletes for Elementary Schoolers to Paint With

7/8/2025
It was a couple nights before the big paint day, and I had lots of paint pallets to create! I had limited pallets, so I began by listing the colors each student needed, and grouping students together based on that. From there, I created as many pallets as I could before it got dark. I relocated inside, and finished the job.

7/8/2025
As it turns out, mixing paint gets your hands messy!

Elementary Painters

7/9/2025
Now...the most exciting part of the project, the students painting! My aide and I set the students up with their paint pallets, a reference image of their plant or animal, a water dish to clean their brush between paint colors, and got them going in their assigned spot. It was so fun to see all the student's research, sketching, and practice painting come together. They even finished painting early, and we got to play games for the rest of summer school!

Finishing the Job

8/24/2025
With the elementary school students done with their parts, I had the landscapes left to do! I invited a friend over, and we cruised through paint mixing and painting. It was so helpful to get a second opinion, and double the work force!