Scituate High School’s Art Club is taking school improvement into its own hands. Five artistic students, sophomores Ciara Hughes, Kara McLaughlin, Alexandra (Sasha) Afanasenko, and Co-Presidents junior Erin Gibbons and sophomore Fiona Hanley were given the opportunity to create a mural to be located in the art wing near the Gates Middle School cafeteria doors. According to Hanley, the main goal of this project is to “capture what it feels like to be in the art wing.”  The club’s faculty advisor, SHS art teacher Stacey Hendrickson, gave a quick “enthusiastic yes” when students presented their idea, and she has remained supportive through the creative process.

Art Club members hope the students’ core values of playfulness, creativity, and dedication are represented in their mural design. Club members are currently sketching the mural’s outline: “The mural currently says ‘ART’ in a graffiti-style design and has several boxes that are filled with countless doodles,” explained Hanley. Club members are looking to light up the art wing with bright colors and designs that honor the amazing students who take art classes. 

Creating a mural from scratch requires a substantial time commitment that begins with focused planning. According to Gibbons and Hanley,  “multiple preliminary sketches” were completed before one was selected and the process of sketching it on the wall was started. All five students have been dedicating time to the process–especially during their study, lunch, or H-Block periods. They hope to finish it before the end of the school year so it will be ready for students to enjoy in the fall.