Schools 17
Ponte Vedra Recorder · October 15, 2015
Mural
Continued from 16
With Furness’ wholehearted support,
the project began in Sept. 2013.
The school’s mascot is the sea turtle,
so it became the focus of the mural. After Stroer drew the turtle and
segmenting it into workable pieces,
the students in her art and mural clubs
rolled out the clay and cut the pieces.
Because of the time and number of
pieces required, all the regular art
classes joined in the manufacturing
process. The fifth grade students began
making fish, soon to be followed by
other grade levels making crabs, octopuses, manta rays, sea horses, coral,
sea plants, mermaids and just about
anything aquatic, real or imagined.
The teachers and adult staff at the
school also got involved, giving everyone ownership of the project.
Even so, the project continued to
expand. Stroer knew she would need
“filler” items to create the water, sand,
and sky elements. Students in all
grades made thousands of “swirlies”
and “marshmallows,” which were coils
of clay and truncated clay cylinders of
various sizes, to fill in the mural. Glazing and firing the pieces took an enormous amount of time and required
many young hands. Firing the kiln
became a daily task for Stroer and her
students, who helped place the pieces
on kiln shelves for firing and sorted
them in boxes after they cooled.
There was little doubt that the
project would be successful. Every
student in the school, which houses
grades three through five, takes art on
a regular rotation. What young child
doesn’t enjoy working with clay? Rolling it out, squishing it between their
palms, pinching, shaping, and adding
details to give the aquatic creatures
their playful personalities- sometimes it
was a challenge getting them to leave
class. Although class periods are only
50 minutes on normal days and after
school clubs only met once a week for
an hour, the project captured the attention of the students, who made the
most of every moment. Some students
returned from middle school to help
on the mural they had begun as fifth
graders.
Of course, Stroer’s students had
other art instruction as well, learning
the Florida Next Generation Sunshine
State Standards well enough to achieve
over 90% proficiency on the new District art assessment. Stroer gives a lot
of credit to Furness.
“I couldn’t have done this without Ms. Furness’ support,“ she said.
“Any time I asked for anything, she
was there to make sure I had what I
needed.”
When asked how many pounds of
clay and gallons of glaze, she could
not even guess, but a video on the
school’s website says they used 50
tubes of industrial strength glue to
mount the pieces.
Although this phase of the project
culminated with a dedication ceremony
in September, it may not be the end.
“We still have lots of pieces left
over,” said Stroer, “I’ve had a lot of
interest in the lamp, so we may make
more of them.” She was referring to a
lamp she created using the extra pieces. It has become a conversation piece
in the reception area of the school.
If you want to find out more about
the project, visit the school website
www-pvmkr.stjohns.k12.fl.us/ and
watch the video. Or better yet, visit the
school during open house and see all
four completed murals.
Photo provided by Oona N. Sidoroff