Vadnais Heights

Final photos of the Vadnais Heights mural project.

Community

The principal selected the cafeteria wall mural "Community." This mural she felt was most representative of the school and also visually fun and interesting. With the many different house styles representing the culturally diverse community and kids waving to neighbors representing the small town community feel.

This sketch shows detail and layout in a format that Greg would use to paint the actual mural.

Vadnais Heights

Last week Greg did a really fun job at a school in Vadnais Heights. After talking with the principal and taking a tour of the area, he put together some thoughts and ideas for the mural. Greg was struck by how Vadnais Heights feels like a small community, rather than a suburb. The principal had explained that the town had great community spirit and is culturally diverse. Greg thought the mural should reflect both culture and community. He gave her 3 concepts.

First Concept: To represent the diverse community and the beautiful wooded scenery in the area Greg intertwined different trees with different leaf shapes and colors. Trees represent growth and progress, so they are a fitting visual for a school environment. The nests, with young and adult birds, represent growth and nurturing.

Second Concept: Inspired by the Cinderella Ball program that has children study how the story Cinderella is told in different cultures, this concept shows how we live in different cultures. Different houses/dwellings from different cultures around the world are blended to create a unique community. Though we all live in different houses we are all part of one community.

Third Concept: Children's fascination with the small world around them is the vehicle for this concept. Friendly insects, birds and leaves represent the diversity of life in the school and community and reflect the abundance of natural life around the school. The rainbow of color that flows through the critters shows that though we are all different we have a core, that is community, running through us and unifying us. The hundreds of critters will provide something new each time a student looks at the mural.