Ever since May 8, the drive down First Street has included a new work of art. That Friday, the love and hard work of a handful of creative students and two teachers was wrapped around a traffic box on the corner of School Street in front of Parkview Middle School.

“The kids really wanted to show some beauty, you know, and display some things. Our principal also came and approached us and was like, ‘you know, I really want to do something with this [since it is] such a big traffic spot,’” Parkview Middle School art teacher Mary Herman said.

Painting and meeting with the city

After one year of the National Junior Art Honor Society (NJAHS) at Parkview, Principal Ben Huebsch approached Herman and Art teacher Debra Flynn to potentially beautify the traffic box. Huebsch learned from early meetings with the city that painting directly on the box was not an option.

“Originally, we wanted to paint it, and then when they met with the city, they’re like, ‘you can’t paint those,’ and so we had to kind of problem solve, figure [it] out, [and] meet with the city,” Herman explained. “The canvases got digitally photographed, and then made into a wrap, but basically, like a big sticker that can withstand all the elements.”

Though Huebsch initiated this project, the students in NJAHS and the Art Team showed the dedication and passion which made them right for the job.

7th grader Lilia Okrzynski said, “It only just started. We did panels for the PC (Performance Center), the study hall room, and then [the teacher said] ‘Okay, this is a really good group of students, so maybe we should extend to something better.’”

The Art Team has been creating art for Parkview for 5 years now, while NJAHS is reaching its second year at the middle school. The students took charge, deciding on the design and painting the 4-foot by 12-foot canvases on their own.

“So we actually got to pull some 7th-grade rock star students that we knew would just really enjoy this experience and do a great job,” Herman explained. “We worked with them after school hours, and it was cool to have a different group, besides just art class, and have it primarily focused on this.”

When the canvas designs were painted, it was time to pitch their idea at a city council meeting. Middle schoolers Addison Dobson and Trey Wendel were appointed to speak at the meeting.

“It was really fun. It was pretty nerve-wracking going in front of and speaking in front of them, but I think it was pretty good,” Wendel said. “We had a slideshow with some pictures from making our respective artworks, and we had the words of the speech on the slideshow.”

Not only did the students speak in front of a room full of adults and, reportedly, supporters of their project, Dobson and Wendel were articulate in why their art would benefit the community.

“Something I kind of mentioned in my speech to the City Council, [is] it just, like, brings a little joy into the community better than just a plain old box,” Dobson said. “If people truly just know the story and know how all these kids from different backgrounds were united to make this one singular artwork, it’s just really beautiful.”

NJAHS and the Art Team worked on two different designs: one was butterflies, and the other was sunflowers. The original view of these differing pieces was to create options for the City Cultural Council to choose from if they approved the project.

“It was a City Council meeting, and we were talking specifically to the City Cultural Council. Addison and Trey were the canvas captains, and so they presented the idea; we talked about it. Then the Council members said, ‘Well, why don’t we combine them?’ which I think is awesome,” Flynn said.

The dual design, butterflies facing the street and sunflowers facing the school, is a bright spot along the road that hasn’t been done in the district before. The canvases had to be done in time for the meeting in November, when the kids presented.

“The [City] Cultural Council was like, ‘We love the idea. Nobody’s done this before. So we need to propose it to the City Council.’ They did that, and the City Council approved it, and so they said, ‘We’ll just have Parkview be a pilot program for this, and you’ll be the first school to do it, and we’ll see if anybody follows in those footsteps,’” Flynn summarized.

To make the world a colorful place

The unanimous approval from the City Council allowed for the art to be finalized on the traffic box. A few students were pulled out of class to learn of this development while others saw the butterflies while their parents drove them to school. Regardless of the how, the excitement was tangible even days later.

“[The students are] special and talented, but they’re also special in just compassion and service, and service in the arts, they’re very sincere about that. So I feel like this is such a great production of something they feel very strongly. They are great artists, but they really love the idea of serving the community and making an impact,” Flynn said.

The four middle school students available for interviews laughed and talked about every way that this project was important to them. However, the main theme throughout their words was how proud they are to make an impact.

Middle schooler and artist Olivia Morgan said, “The thing is, we are the first in our district to do this, so I feel like this is gonna be a domino effect, where it’s gonna inspire the community and help us all, like, come together and inspire other schools to do this, but do so much more to decorate and make things look beautiful, and just bring joy to our world.”