Fifth-grader Faith Hernandez, 10, ran toward a wall after school on a sunny afternoon in May, eager to begin painting a new mural with her schoolmates at Sunkist Elementary, the second large art piece for the campus.
“The most exciting part is being able to paint something that I got to see people paint last year,” Faith said. “I feel I get a special part in something I really like.”
Faith’s instructor for the day was local artist Carla Roque. She, along with a dozen other students, were to paint a mural on a wall that read, “If you can dream it you can do it!”
Roque gathered all the students and explained that they needed to get plastic coverings on their shoes and put on oversized white T-shirts to keep the paint away from their daywear. Roque then showed the proper technique to apply paint to a brush and then put it on the wall.
“It’s going to be different than painting on paper,” Roque said. “You’re going to want to scrub a bit, little strokes.”
Then, they were off to painting, filling in bright colors around the letters to make the mural an unmissable sight.
“It’s really powerful for them to have their artwork in a public area for everyone to see,” Principal Stephanie Shumate said.
The students filled in every corner of the mural with an array of colors. They also decorated around the mural with chalk art. In all, they took about an hour to finish their task.
Over the last two years, Anaheim Elementary School District campuses have had murals painted at every school to liven up spaces and leave positive messages for the students. This past school year brought the second set of murals. The new one at Sunkist Elementary faces the schoolyard courts.
Shumate said the students “have lots of hype around” the mural. And, the school takes time to talk about what the message means.
Fourth-grader Leslie Tapia, 10, has done art in school, but “never worked on a piece” as big as the mural she and her classmates will walk by daily for years to come.
“It’s very exciting,” she said.
The mural painting is part of the district’s expanded learning opportunities program, which keeps students engaged in a variety of activities after school hours.
As they wrapped up, some students put paint on their hands and marked each others’ shirts with handprints for “memories.”
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