While students were away because of COVID-19, one area school filled its halls and walls with art.
When Siuslaw Middle School students return for hybrid learning March 8th, they’ll see colorful new murals in the gym and a hallway. A team of community members and students brainstormed the elements. Art teacher Lauren Suveges said artist Jessilyn Brinkerhoff took the dunes, river, and traditional canoes and made them sporty, for the gym, adding, “The shape and the design and the ribbons and the coloring and the text really help to make it feel like a sense of pride of the middle school.”
Suveges invited some students to help paint the hallway mural, which depicts four joyful figures in the same color scheme. “They were so excited to be here," she said. "And they were really really proud of being able to leave their mark at the school.”
Suveges said the mural’s theme, “Water Is Life,” helps define the school, and she looks forward to seeing where it goes next.
The project was part of Lane Arts Council’s Arts Education program. The cost of the murals was supported by a grant from the Western Lane Community Foundation with additional support from the Florence Elks Club and Driftwood Shores.
