<I>Contributed Photo</I><BR>Among other things, Dustin Gibson had a hand in painting this vintage truck for the Dayville School mural.

DAYVILLE – Creativity is taking place at Dayville School in a BIG way – in the shape of a work-in-progress mural.

The idea for the mural originated with science teacher Neil Bauer. In his first year at Dayville School, this was the first time he hadn’t really had a nice view from his classroom. Despite the scenic panorama around the hilltop school, Bauer’s classroom looks out to the gymnasium building, across a small alleyway. That sparked the idea to create a mural on the gym wall.

Freshmen Shyanne Winters, Molly Buce and Dustin Gibson, led by art teacher Marina Martin (Shyanne’s grandmother), began laying plans for the mural. They first created a collage “blueprint” of about 15-20 pictures, based on ideas of what Bauer would like to see in his new view.

The process began at the start of the school year; by the end of September, the painting had begun.

The three students, working free hand, painted nearly every day, spending about 30-45 minutes on the mural. They used acrylic paint and experimented with various painting tools for the project, too – not only brushes, but sponges, leaves, weeds, and even their own fingers – to create desired effects.

Changes were made along the way as the work progressed, such as the size and shape of the main mountain rising up out of the center.

They based the rolling hills portion on the actual hills surrounding Dayville, and they observed the landscape around the school from different vantage points and in different light to get better ideas and more accurately depict the topography.

They also compiled a photographic log of the mural’s daily progress.

Martin said that this was the first time in several years they’ve had any high school art classes at Dayville. The students have learned some valuable art techniques while working on the mural, such as creating textures, dimension, depth and shadows, as well as just the complexities of tackling such a huge project.

Most of the students’ prior painting experiences were with paper at tables or easels. One thing that stood out for Molly from the experience was just “getting up on the ladders” to paint the higher parts.

In addition, she said, “You have to make sure your lines and colors are bolder, especially in the detailed areas” because of the size of the mural and the texture of the wall.

Asked what people might want to know about the mural, Shyanne said, “It looks a lot different up close than it does farther back.”

To encourage Dustin to be a bit more flexible with his painting techniques, Ms. Martin had him try something a bit different for a looser outcome. Both girls agreed one of the most memorable moments was “watching Dusty having to paint backwards.”

Winter weather has halted the painting for now; Molly and Shyanne said that it’s hard to do when the paint keeps freezing up. Once the painting resumes, the artists will add an old homestead, a herd of cattle, a barn, sunnier portions of the sky, and branches from the tree to extend across the foreground – items already laid out on the “blueprint” collage.

Martin said there also are plans for a second mural, farther down the wall, to provide a view for the adjoining math classroom. Some Dayville business have even expressed interest in having the students paint murals on their buildings.