When art students at Highland Secondary School in Comox leave, a part of their time in high school will stay behind.
That’s thanks to art teacher Nathan Senner, who has co-ordinated and designed two ‘legacy’ projects for Grade 11 and 12 students at the school.
Both projects - a large clay mural at the main entrance of the school and an exterior eagle mural on the side of the school - recently were completed and installed.
“The students were really invested and they are excited about the finished mural(s) and the impact it has had in brightening the entrance area and in adding to our school culture,” he explained.
“I’m very proud of them and all their hard work.”
The clay mural, which has a B.C. wildlife theme, was created by 54 Art Foundations students. Each student sculpted an 11x11-inch hand-built clay tile (plus eight double size pieces).
They were finished with acrylic paint and assembled into a collective display.
The mural was designed in three separate sections due to the weight (around 200 pounds each), added Senner.
Grade 12 student Jessica Garrett said while they did use photos for reference, the challenge was transforming the two dimensional photo into three dimensions.
She has worked with clay since Grade 8, and designed a heron on one of the double pieces.
“It’s really neat to leave the legacy behind in the school after we graduate.”
The exterior eagle mural was a project Senner wanted to do to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the school (which happens in 2018), he noted.
Because he is retiring at the end of the school season this month, Senner decided to co-ordinate the project a bit ahead of schedule.
“In keeping with the traditions of our school, I redesigned and incorporated a new version of our eagle mascot and created a mandala background which is reflective of the circular shape of our school.”
The colours are traditional colours of Highland’s house advisory system.
Art Foundations (Grade 11 and 12) and Art Career 12 classes were the students who painted eight panels which were later installed on the entrance wall by the main doors to the school.
“It really was surprising to me, because we only worked on it on small sections, and it’s really cool to see it now as one big piece,” explained Grade 11 student Samantha Devine.