Artist of the Week: Esme Gilley, Aubrey Grigalunas & Kayla McCormick
Warwick Valley High School honors art students Esme Gilley, Aubrey Grigalunas and Kayla McCormick spent two afternoons last week painting a mural of a tree at Park Avenue Elementary School.
The project happened after members of the Park Avenue PTA reached out to WVHS art teacher Nicole Sisco. The PTA needed a new mural to use for a membership drive.
“I told the PTA that I have some exceptional honors arts kids that love to draw and paint,” Ms. Sisco said. “They were definitely excited to do something that’s a permanent piece of art in an elementary school. The students were excited to give back and to do something to make an imprint on the community.”
Ms. Sisco and the students worked at Park Avenue from about 2:45-4:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, with a break at around 3:30 p.m. when the halls were full of students during dismissal.
“We did some sketches and looked at some photos online,” Ms. Sisco said. “We were just trying to get some inspiration for something that was classic and beautiful. We didn’t want it to feel elementary; we wanted it to be a beautiful piece of art that could be left here forever. I think it turned out exceptional. The neutral pallet feels earthy, timeless and classic.”
Kayla and Esme are both former Park Avenue students. Kayla said she saw many of her Park Avenue teachers while painting the mural.
Kayla said the work was a little stressful because they didn’t have that much time to paint and because of all the people walking by while they were working.
“But it’s been really fun to work with Esme and Aubrey and to create something for my old school that future generations will be able to see,” Kayla said. “The kids have been very supportive and saying it looks great and how they are excited for it. I’m happy with how it came out.’
For the past few years, the Park Avenue PTA had a membership tree featuring the names of families who joined the organization. But last summer when the hallways were repainted, the tree was painted over.
“This year we enlisted the help of a wonderful PTA parent volunteer, Katie Zack, to help us create a new tree,” PTA Board President Christine McKnight said. “Katie coordinated with the high school honors art class to have a few talented students create a mural, and we’re just thrilled with the result!”
As new members joined the PTA this fall, their names on colorful paper apples have been added to the tree.
“The kids really love to see their family names go up on the tree as their family members join the PTA,” Ms. McKnight said. “We hope this will encourage families to join the PTA and keep our membership tree growing!”
View a photo gallery of the project below:
