Murals with meaning. (Middle School).

Assigned to a middle-school position in my district, I was approached by my principal to paint murals in the hallways. For the subject of the mural, I decided to integrate the sixth grade social studies curriculum on ancient Greek culture. I also decided to include the rich cultural heritage of the Tuscaroran Indian Reservation, which is part of our school district. I had many student volunteers, mostly sixth graders, who thought it would be fun to draw on the school walls.

Going Greek

The Greek mural was tackled first because the sixth grade students were learning about this culture in social studies at the time. We selected a wall, took measurements, and drew a scale drawing, which included the three styles of columns--Doric, Corinthian, and Ionic. We decided the columns should vary in height so we could display student works at the tops of them.

The wall was already a light color so we did not have to prime it. We began drawing our design onto it using a yardstick and a level to get the columns straight. To obtain an older look, we painted the columns in varying shades of gray. Some columns had to be painted three or four times before they looked right. We agreed that the unifying factor had to be the background, so only students who had similar painting styles painted the background.

Tuscarora Theme

The Tuscaroran mural was harder to develop because students did not have much prior knowledge of the artwork and symbols of the Tuscaroran people. I began by reading to them the book Giving Thanks, by Chief Jake Swamp (illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr., a Tuscaroran artist). I showed students various traditional beadwork motifs and explained the significance of wampum belts. Students were fascinated that wampum belts were a visually binding document and decided to create an abstract wampum belt for our mural.

Our final design included five large rectangles. The first rectangle was winter. Cool colors represented our snowy weather and evergreen trees symbolized the Tree of Peace. The second rectangle was spring. It incorporated the Haudenasaune (translation: People of the Long House) Tree of Life symbol to represent the earth's renewal. The center rectangle was a conglomeration of popular beadwork motifs. We painted dots of iridescent paints with cotton swabs to replicate the beads. The fourth rectangle was summer. We used a hummingbird drinking nectar from a flower, strawberries, and Sky-World, where life began according to the Haudenosaunee. The fifth rectangle was fall and showed the three Sisters, corn, beans, and squash.

After we began painting, we realized the rectangles looked disconnected so we brainstormed and came up with the idea of a waterway flowing through and connecting them. Since we are only minutes from one of the natural wonders of the world, Niagara Falls, we thought it was only fitting to include it in our mural.

Murals as Teaching Tools

Both murals were exciting to create, but also time consuming. Each one took approximately three months from start to finish. We worked on the murals during study hall and occasionally after school. Sometimes I was not available and students worked independently.

I recommend working with small groups of students, six maximum, because of the varying artistic styles. I found that students are very enthusiastic about painting on the walls but sometimes rush. It took a while for my students to realize that good work takes time and concentration.

As we painted together, students discovered many things, like the advantage of applying paint thinly so it will not run or drip, and how to make compromises when trying to get students to agree on a design change.

I recommend murals to all teachers who want to start incorporating other content areas into their curriculum. Teachers should look at their own environment and incorporate the school's surrounding cultural diversity. Our murals proved to be a wonderful basis for teaching, painting, history, multiculturalism, art inquiry, and cooperation.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of characteristics and purposes of works of art.

Resource

Swamp, C. J. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books, 1995.

Jill A. Hessinger is an art teacher at Edward Town Middle School in Sanborn, New York.