(This is an archive story, refer to following byline for author's name)
By Gabby Vidana
On March 31, members of the National Art Honor Society went on a trip to paint a mural for the community near White Settlement Road. This was not the first time that NAHS had taken on a community project, but it was their most recent. White Settlement Community Volunteer Coordinator Joey Garcia reached out to NAHS Sponsor and Art Teacher Kelly Neunlist about having the members take on the project and paint the butterfly-themed mural.
“The butterfly theme was requested,” Art Teacher Jacqueline Bandy said. “There is an area at the location for Monarchs and they wanted this mural so children could stand for photos and have butterfly wings behind them.”
The mural was a big task for NAHS to take on. It took two days for the members to complete, with them drawing out the design on the first day and completing all of the painting on the second day. The NAHS members faced some challenges while painting such as handling the windy weather. The two days of hard work helped teach the art students how to work as a team and collaborate with others.
“My favorite part of painting the mural was collaborating with other artists,” NAHS Member Lyene Lenartowicz said. “Everyone who participated was great to work with and the process went by smoothly because we communicated and worked together.”
The mural came together after hours of hard work. Not only was this a chance to help the community for students, but the NAHS members were able to showcase their talents. This mural was also a year in the making.
“We were supposed to complete this mural in March of 2020, but it was postponed to March 2021 due to Covid,” Neunlist said.
Despite this setback, NAHS members were able to pull off the huge project. They have proved that art can be used to help our community and brighten up our world. This has not been the first time they have proven this with one of their projects. They have completed the mural at the community garden, the stop light boxes collaboration, and community pride/spirit.