A Pullman public school mural inspires the Washington State University Fine Arts Department for future projects and collaborations.

            WSU professors Joe Hedges and Amy Nielsen led the project for the new elementary school. Fine arts student Kelsey Baker worked with 25 students in Hedge’s advanced and intermediate painting class to create the mural.

            “At the beginning of the semester I asked my students if this is something we want to do and everybody was excited about doing it,” Hedges said.

            Hedges said the difference with this project was it gave his students an opportunity to collaborate and work together on a common goal.

            “Any University can be a little insular. You go to your class, you do the work in one room, and at the end of the semester you get a grade and that is it,” Hedges said.

            The Kamiak Art and Chemistry mural project was funded by an interdisciplinary research and innovation seed grant from the WSU College of Arts and Sciences.

            Students of the school and community members voted for their favorite designs presented by the mural team. The paintings feature an image of a Kestrel, the school mascot and temperature sensitive paint molecules.

            “For me this was really special because it wasn’t just because I got to work with Joe, but for me it was really exciting to work with Kelsey and the other students, so I got to see the creative process finish,” Nielsen said.

            The mural serves as an important role for inspiration and education, and. Students are able to touch the walls and make their own temporary marks. The school mascot and colors inspired the pigments used for this mural.

            Nielsen said the thermochromic pigment color varies from turquoise to black, peach to navy, and light green to dark green. At warmer temperatures they will show the lighter color, and at colder temperatures they will show the darker color.

            “I have seen classes look at those geometric shapes and use those spaces like a math tool. I think the opportunities are endless. I think it just adds to the site and it is a beautiful piece of art,” Principal Evan Hecker said.

            The painting of the mural started in the beginning of the fall semester after the construction of the school was completed. It took about two months with the students working throughout the week and weekends to complete the mural.

            According to the Daily Evergreen in October, Kamiak Elementary School hosted a ceremony to honor the mural created by the WSU students.  

            “I think it was lot of fun for the kids to watch the interaction and the process of the grey wall to now a beautiful piece of art. I obviously think community engagement and how we engage with others are really important,” Hecker said.

            Nielson and Hedges have been in discussion with ways of collaborating and scaling this process to bigger projects. Ideas include the possibility of going to another city and having a high-profile situation.

            The two professors are also in discussions of a chemistry and fine arts blended class.  Students will be able to synthesize pigments and use those pigments they made themselves in their own paintings.

            “This opens up a lot of other areas as well just thinking about how many different opportunities there are. You can think about it in terms of sculpture and or pottery. There is a lot of opportunities for collaboration there,” Nielsen said.

            With the success of the mural and the enormous positive response from the community, Hedges became inspired with other possible projects he could do.

            “I am in very early talks with the Palouse Science Center about taking what we learned from temperature sensitive paints and applying them to a more controlled indoor environment. I like getting out of the classroom. This is a land grant university, and this is a part of our mission to really engage the community more.” Hedges said.

Sources:

Joe Hedges: joe.hedges@wsu.edu 509-335-7107

Amy Nielsen: amy.nielsen@wsu.edu 509-335-1923

Evan Hecker: ehecker@psd267.org 509-332-3581

Non-human source:  https://dailyevergreen.com/65557/news/wsu-paints-mural-for-school/