With paint brushes brandished, Niles High School students transformed a blank white wall into a canvas, Wednesday at the Wesley United Methodist Church.
The students’ colorful mural depicts a tree with four seasons of leaves, tousled by the wind.
Pastor Cathi Huvaere said the project is part of a goal to revive some of the less colorful spaces around the church, while also displaying a vivid reminder of the church’s vision to be rooted in God and branch out to the community with the same love and grace, she said.
“We really wanted to be able to express our vision and how we see ourselves as a church and our connection with the community and our call to be not only filled with God’s spirit, but to go out into the community and serve,” Huvaere said.
After graphic designer Sid Arenz came up with the tree drawing, the church decided to offer up an artistic opportunity to local high school students.
She said she reached out to Niles High School art teacher Peter Helm to ask if he could select some students he thought would be good for the job.
“It worked out so beautifully and the [artists] were very willing to come and they worked hard,” Huvaere said. “It was a great connection to make with the
community and it would give them an opportunity to practice their skills, [and] also a place to maybe feature their work.”
Students created two murals, which depict the same all-seasons tree. One mural is located in the basement hallway wall, directly across from the elevator, visible to those who pass the halls to get to a classroom or the fellowship hall.
For Niles High School senior Vanya Ruppart, sophomore Lexi Ziebarth and junior Haeleigh Mann, it was an opportunity to demonstrate all they have learned in Helm’s art fundamentals classes, where students are taught how to draw with pencil and a bunch of different varieties, as well as various mediums.
For the murals, students traced a projection of the tree onto the wall and began painting it in. The process took about six hours per mural.
While the project was an opportunity to showcase lessons learned, students also agreed it was a chance to help the community with their art.
“Here we are getting experience and actually get to help our community and make our mark on the town,” Ziebarth said.
By the afternoon Wednesday, students were putting the finishing touches on the final mural in the parlor.
Now, when church attendees enter the building, the mural, which covers most of the wall space, will be one of the first things they see.
When people take in the tree, Mann thinks they will reflect on, how like leaves, people have the individual capability to spread a large and powerful message, like the word of God, she said.
Ruppart echoed this sentiment.
“One person can make a big difference,” Ruppart said. “This can almost show that all those leaves represent everybody they change.”
The experience has been a rewarding one, for both the church and the school.
Admiring the mural on Wednesday afternoon, Huvaere said she appreciated the students’ attention to detail.
Carried with the gust of wind will be the words “Breathe in” and “Breathe out.” Underneath the mural several words will remind church attendees the root of the church’s mission.
“Breathe in and grow, breathe out and serve,” Huvaere said.
Huvaere hopes that other organizations in the community will invite students to do as they have done for Wesley United Methodist and transform the space with their artistic talent.
“They have been delightful to work with,” Huvaere said.
For each student who participated in the project, art has long been a way to express themselves while sharing with those who admire their work.
“It is true when they say art can speak more than words can,” Mann said. “You can put energy and your feelings through [the piece]. I feel like other people can have a chance to connect with my art, too. I have a really deep passion for it.”