The walls of Oak Mountain Elementary School are getting a fresh new look thanks to the talents of art students from both the elementary school and Oak Mountain High School.  The students are working together on a collaborative art project to paint 20 new canvases that will hang on permanent display at Oak Mountain Elementary School.

OMES Principal Debbie Horton said the new artwork will not only replace older, outdated pieces that have hung on the walls since the school opened 25 years ago, but will also serve as a visual reminder of 16 character traits that teachers and administrators hope to see students emulate.  In addition to the character-themed canvases, the students also designed four others that represent the school, the logo, and bluebird mascot. 

“Our artwork was really faded and outdated,” explained Horton.  “I wanted to see some new artwork that would be colorful and very kid friendly.  We are also trying to become a Leader in Me School and we wanted to identify some character traits we feel are important for all students to develop.  We came up with the idea of having the artwork reflect those traits.”

Horton first turned to OMES art teacher Carol Popwell for ideas.  Popwell then turned to fellow high school art teachers, Ashley Lemley and Nicole McKinney, for additional inspiration.  What developed from those conversations was a truly student-centered collaboration between the two school’s art departments.

Lemley and McKinney made the project a grade requirement for certain art classes.  McKinney required it for Art I students, while Lemley made it a requirement for Art II and Art III.  They also allowed their students in other art classes to be involved in the project voluntarily.

The high school students were given the task of coming up with design ideas which illustrated the various 16 character traits, such as, “Be Respectful”, “Be Patient”, “Be Kind”, and “Be Brave”.  From the initial submission of over 200 designs from the high school art students, Lemley and McKinney narrowed them down to around 50.  Those submissions were then sent to Popwell to select the ones she felt best represented the character traits.

The two schools then developed a way to make it feel truly special for the students by bringing them together to work on the finished product.  The high school students whose designs were chosen came to OMES on January 7 to start sketching their designs onto large canvases.  Once the designs were sketched onto the canvases, the elementary students began to assist with painting in the color.  A second set of high school art students came to the school on January 8 to help the elementary school students with the painting details.

Charlee Vawter, an 11^th grade student, came up with caterpillar and butterfly design to represent “Be Patient.”  Vawter said she wanted to convey the message that good and beautiful things come with time.

“I wanted to show the patience that the caterpillar has to show,” Vawter said. “He doesn’t know that one day he is going to become a butterfly.  Sometimes you don’t know what is in store for you.”

Popwell said she chose the butterfly design because the kindergarten students at OMES do a butterfly project where they watch the butterflies emerge from their cocoons and then be released outside.

“All of our students know about that process and would understand why that was used to describe the word patient,” Popwell said.

Rachel Nail, who volunteered for the art project, designed the “Be Knowledgeable” canvas.  She said she chose a student reading a book because she wanted the younger students to understand the importance reading plays in attaining knowledge.   She said she is honored that her work will now be on permanent display for years to come.

“I feel really good about it,” Nail said. “I think it is really neat that it will be on display.  I once had another design chosen to be a t-shirt at the intermediate school.”

All of the art teachers are happy with the project, especially the opportunity it provided the older students to bond with and mentor the younger ones.

“There have been some truly special moments,” McKinney said.  “It has been a wonderful opportunity for our students.”