Students studying graphic arts at Argus and Endeavor High Schools recently completed hand-painted murals on more than 30 walls in the 16,000-square-foot skate park at Smyrna Community Park.
Argus and Endeavor partnered with the city of Ceres on the project that is part of a larger renovation underway throughout the park.
Graphic Arts teacher Janelle Malagon says she was “all in” when the city of Ceres Engineering Division sent an email seeking art teachers to participate in the skate park makeover. The school put together a design proposal and students wrote letters to support the city’s application for a grant to fund the project. School staff was notified late last year that the grant application was successful. When school started this year, Malagon’s students set to work using Adobe Photoshop software to design vibrant, skate-themed imagery. Painting began in October, with students bussed to the park in shifts.
“We had a total of 50 to 60 (students) who painted every single day of the week for about 30-35 minutes each day,” said Malagon. Leadership students from Laura McNelis’ class joined in two days each week. Rain or shine, students made the trek to the park.
“When it was 90 degrees outside or raining, we set up tents. If it was windy, those were the hardest days,” Malagon said. Insects were also a challenge, occasionally “pouring out of a small hole we were in the middle of painting.”
Students say they didn’t quite know what they were committing to when their teacher first posed the idea.
“I imagined it would be just in the classroom on the computers,” said Argus High senior America Rodriguez. “At first, I thought it was kind of intimidating – me taking on a mural that’s going to be there years and years – but we got to practice and that helped us ease into the idea.”
Malagon believes the skills and habits students have developed while working on the skate park murals go far beyond learning to design and paint. Teamwork, problem-solving, persistence, leadership, and an appreciation for diverse artistic expressions are just a few of the benefits she lists.
Kai Orosco, a junior at Argus, said the project taught her patience in navigating small frustrations such as paint that didn’t dry dark enough and had to be layered, or a shadow making it difficult to see the details of the area where she was working. Ultimately, though, “Putting down the paint is really nice and seeing your finished work is like the best feeling,” she said.
“I learned that making mistakes isn’t always the worst thing. You learn and correct as you go,” said Endeavor senior Adrian Valdovinos. “I think I’ll be able to take on more difficult decisions with more confidence as a result of what we’ve been able to do here. We’ve been able to have an impact on the community, which is awesome, but it’s also had an impact on us.”
Rodriguez expressed a newfound appreciation for school. “I’m grateful we were able to have a chance to do this because it’s showing a different side of school and what we’re capable of,” she said. “It’s going to be cold and it’s going to be tough to get out of bed, but I know once I’m there, I’m going to get the gratification out of being there.”
On Dec. 20, students had a chance to show their families what they had accomplished during a school-hosted “art walk” at the skate park.
“The kids were glowing,” commented Principal Linda Stubbs. “Families feel like it’s a legacy the kids have left.”
Gesturing across the skate park, Valdovinos was proud to point out, “Around that corner on the middle tier on the wall, there’s this alien, and I think, ‘That’s my alien.’ I’ve got two nephews that are turning five soon. It would be awesome for them to grow up and see that their uncle helped out with some of these pieces.”
“It definitely feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – to think that we’re the ones getting to be part of this,” Rodriguez said. “It could have been any other school.”
– Beth Jimenez is Ceres Unified School District’s communication specialist
