Each of the five hallways in the elementary school have a “street name,” designed to give each area a unique and fun identity: Pinetree Avenue, Apple Drive, Blueberry Road, Pumpkin Path, and Lemondrop Lane. But to give the hallways more meaning, elementary art teacher Michael Shea has been working with 5th grade students each year to create a mural for each of the “streets.” The permanent artwork serves as a 5th grade class contribution as they move on to their middle school years, and each mural is created with a different artist or theme in mind. So far, Pinetree Avenue is based in the style of Folk Artist Grandma Moses, and Apple Drive has a theme of illustrations from throughout students’ elementary school experience.
Blueberry Road was the focus of the 2022 5th grade mural, where students worked in the style of Keith Haring to create Schuylerville kids in action. In Haring’s work figures are created with bold outlines, angles, action lines, and very few interior features. Every 5th grade student created their own “Haring style kid in action” drawing, which was then voted on by the whole school. Those with the most votes were enlarged and recreated as part of the mural.
“This year’s mural had every 5th grade student involved, which was really special,” said Shea. “The 5th Grade Art Club first created the background and non-human parts of the mural, and then each 5th grade class worked during their art periods to complete the kids in action. Some even volunteered their time after school! Every student left their mark.”