MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE; VOLUNTEER PAINTS SOLAR SYSTEM ON SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

To the kids at Joshua School, Donita Winn is the Snow Cone Lady, the PTA Lady, even the Popcorn Lady.

The nine-year parent volunteer's latest appellation is ``the lady who is painting the outside.''

For two months, Winn has been painting an enormous picture of the solar system across five school buildings spanning half a block on the north side of campus.

``I will make the Earth big enough to see the North American and South American continents. It will be proportionate to a degree,'' said Winn, her arms speckled with yellow-orange paint from painting the sun. ``I went to NASA and they gave me color lithographs of the planets, so I'll be trying to get the colors as close as I can.''

The project has gotten the surrounding neighborhood involved. Curious residents drop by and ask questions. One brought Winn apricots, and another neighbor, a handyman who lives across the street from the school, is assisting Winn, donating his labor, scaffolding, drop cloths and helpful hints.

``That's kind of Donita. She's able to draw people in and get them excited about projects,'' Principal Howard Horn said.

This is not the first time the Lancaster resident has taken a paintbrush to school property. Examples of her other artistic handiwork abound at Joshua, whose symbol is the space shuttle Discovery and whose mascots are the Discoverers.

Winn, who minored in art in college, painted more than 100 little red space shuttles on walkways to help guide young pupils from kindergarten to the office. She painted a 16-by-32-foot world map on the asphalt playground, and repainted another playground map of the United States originally done by a teacher.

She made signs with teachers' names and an image of the shuttle that are posted above each classroom door. And she has helped recruit other artists to craft murals for the cafeteria and another building wall.

Winn also has been PTA president and editor of the school newsletter and has served on Lancaster School District committees. Spending up to 50 hours a week at the school, Winn jokes she has lived there for the past nine years.

School officials, who consider her part of the staff, nominated her for the district's Golden Apple Award for the top volunteer, which she was awarded this year.

``She is the epitome of an outstanding volunteer because she sees things and jumps in and does them. She's willing to help on just about any project as long as it's good for the kids,'' Horn said. ``She reads to kids. Every time she turns around, she's doing something new.''

Winn started the solar system project in mid-June, about a month after she completed the world map painting. Horn suggested the galactic rendering, and Winn volunteered to do it. She hopes to finish by mid-August.

Winn typically paints from 6 or 7 in the morning until about noon, then comes back in the evenings if she can for one or two hours and sometimes on the weekend.

There have been a few obstacles and inconveniences along the way. Winn has endured the last gasps of El Nino and triple-digit heat waves.

Winn also discovered she has a fear of heights after scaling ladders to try to reach the top of the 12-foot walls. ``I'm getting better. I can get up five rungs on a ladder and not shake too much,'' she said.

Winn had difficulty using a hydraulic lift that weighs 200 to 300 pounds and would sink into the ground after the bushes near the walls had been watered.

Roy Workman, who lives across the street, noticed the troubles Winn was having and offered to paint the high areas after learning of her phobia. Winn describes him as a godsend and ``extremely kind-hearted.''

``He noticed me pray for strength at the bottom of the ladder,'' Winn joked. ``Roy brought the scaffolding. A couple days later, he was coming over and giving me ideas. Pretty soon he volunteered to do the peaks for me.''

The two have developed an easy rapport. ``I clean houses, do yards and help out people in distress,'' the 56-year-old handyman said.

``That's me,'' Winn chirped.

``I think it's beautiful. That's why I volunteered to help her,'' Workman said during a break. ``It's going to make the school look pretty. I live across the street. I want to see something nice.''

Even though her two daughters, Amanda, 13, and Jessica, 11, no longer attend Joshua and have moved on to New Vista Middle School, Winn can't seem to end her work at the elementary school.

``I have established friendships. It's a home away from home. It's hard to leave,'' said Winn, who wears a badge that says, ``Don't yell at me . . . I'm a volunteer,'' a gift from her brother-in-law. ``I absolutely love the kids.''

Winn has lived in the Antelope Valley for 23 years. Her husband, Duane, works in the marketing department of Valencia-based H.R. Textron.

Now that her daughters are done with elementary school, Winn will start a part-time job this week in the human resources department of the High Desert Medical Group.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in AV Edition only) Volunteer Donita Winn, left, is creating a mammoth mural of the solar system at Joshua School in Lancaster with the aid of Roy Workman. The painting will encompass five buildings.

(2--Color) (Ran in AV Edition only) Donita Winn, bottom, and Ray Workman work to create a large mural of the solar system.

John McCoy/Daily News