Ogden School Mural Project...Fresh Paint for Vancouver 'Hood

Well, this awesome little project fell into my lap, thanks to the nice folks at The Clark County Mural Society. An amazingly energetic teacher and her fifth grade class have been studying the effect of publicly made mural art as a graffiti deterrent. Studies in other cities such as Washington D.C., Inner city Los Angeles and metro areas in Canada have shown the effect of large scale public art to be a positive one, positively impacting communities that are hard struck by poverty, reduced property values, and unemployment. These are shots of the proposed paint site; the building is approximately 10' x 100' and all patchwork with paint to cover 'tags'. A local family owned business owns the building, and graciously donated it to the mural's creation, which is highly visible on a busy freeway in Vancouver.

This is the beginning, I got an order in for a paint donation from Sherwin Williams and I do believe the design process is underway. The theme for the mural is awaiting input from the school's students, who have done various projects in their studies pertaining to local water quality of Burnt Bridge Creek, studies of green/ecologically sound ways to have an outdoor classroom and recycling methods and improvements to name a few. These kids are going to make a fantastic impact, and feel their hand at work at beautifying their environment, which is what it's all about. More soon! Here's the next stage that I did today, almost completely rolled out with primer. I have a bit more to cake on, and would love to start with a nice smooth thick coat. The sun was shining and it was PERFECT painting weather!

Don't let the sun-blindness induced smirk fool you; I couldn't be more excited about this project!