A new mural in Martin Elementary School depicts a student reading with the school's therapy dog. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — When you think of brushstrokes and paints at schools, you don’t typically think of it happening in the library.
But that’s exactly where it’s happening this week at Green Bay’s Martin Elementary school.
Jennifer Georgia describes students reactions as they’ve walked into the library throughout the week.
“I get a lot of ‘oooh my goodness!” or ‘wow!'” she says.
Georgia has been the Library Media Specialist at Martin Elementary school for 16 years.
“Here in the library, we have something for everybody,” she says. “We also have a very welcoming area here, everybody’s welcome, I want everyone to be comfortable and it’s a place they want to be.”
While stories come to life on the pages of the books that fill the library shelves, Georgia had the idea to bring a story to life on the wall, too. A mural.
That story, she adds, is one written by the students.
It’s all the things they tell their teachers they love about their school.
“We have our therapy dog up here in the corner, he comes and he reads with students in the library,” Georgia explains as she points to the mural.
“Our [physical education] teacher takes the younger students bowling,” she adds. “Our really young kids get to go pumpkin picking ever fall,” she says, pointing out the depiction of a young boy holding pumpkins.
Artist and muralist Greg Preslicka made the students’ ideas reality, and he’s began work on the piece on Monday.
“A lot of students see art [when] it’s done, so this is a great way to see an artist working and see art happen, rather than a piece that’s hanging on a wall that they don’t have any connection as to how that got there,” Preslicka says. “So this is fun.”
Preslicka’s career as a muralist began when his daughters asked him to create murals on their bedroom walls. From there, it grew, and now one of Preslicka’s favorite places to bring art to life is inside of schools.
This project is no different.
“To know that it’s about the students, that it’s what the students love about their school. . . it’s fun to be able to portray that and have something they can see for years to come.”
The four-and-a-half-foot tall by 39-foot long mural is getting it’s finishing touches Thursday.
But Preslicka says it’s more than just students’ ideas on a wall.
“It validates why they’re here,’ Preslicka says. “Someone takes the time to ask them, ‘hey what’s important to you about school?’ and I think that’s real important, then it gets put on the wall [to] say ‘hey yeah, we think that’s important too,'” he adds.
While the mural is all based on students’ ideas, one student had the chance to be featured in it.
“I just put all my tickets in there, and then I just got picked,” explains 7-year-old Connor McGregor.
The first grader at Martin was the lucky raffle winner who was selected to be featured in the mural during one of the fundraising events for the piece.
Georgia says the mural makes the library feel complete, and just like her students, she’s excited to be here.
“It makes me excited to know that students are connected, that they have a place they want to come to and are connected to and that these are all the great things that are happening here and they know it.”
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