Solving our projector problems for a narrow hallway mural.
Murals are a great way to bring attention to your art program. I do one every year with my advanced students so they know it's something they get to do if they have had 3 or 4 years of art. This becomes a legacy project and when we have several designs created, get them approved by administration, and let our senior class vote on the final selection. This year was a cartoon representation of our school's program areas. Cosmetology, Welding, Nursing, Programming, HVAC, etc. (We are a magnet school that offers certification in these areas and a few more.) The first and last figure represent a freshman and a graduating senior.
There are many ways to approach a mural, from straight-up drawing it, using grids, stencils... but the easiest way to transfer a drawing to a wall is to project an image and trace. But what if the hallway is too narrow to cast a large image? We wanted life-size figures but our projector could only cast an image about 3 foot tall in that hallway as it's fairly narrow.
So instead, we used a combination of methods to create our mural. We projected images in a classroom onto large paper for each figure. Then we traced them in permanent marker to bleed through that paper so we could rub pencil on the backs of the drawings to essentially create giant carbon paper transfer. We spaced these out along the wall for the mural and made adjustments till we were happy with the composition. Using blue tape we secured the figures and traced by pressing hard with a dull pencil. These transfers were re-drawn again with permanent marker, and painted in with heavy-body acrylics that we got through a Donor's Choose campaign. We re-outlined the figures with Elmer's paint markers, and touched up the wall.
The results were pretty good, and during the whole process the administration, teachers, and other students gave us many compliments. The building tours now start in that hallway as they talk about our various programs of study and certification opportunities for students. What was once a boring hallway to connect parts of the building, is now a featured element of the school's recruitment tours and highlights our art program to all who visit.
You can see the initial sketch in the first image below, and how the idea grew to include all of our program areas. At the end of the mural project, students completed a review, sharing what they learned in the process, what they might have done differently if they could, and a critique. Most agreed it was harder than they imagined, but rewarding. Another issue to address is that if we are all working on this together, the artist, who's design was selected, should be willing to let go of some control and allow other voices to be incorporated into the design. This was like color selections, and some simple personal touches. We learned to work as a team and celebrate our individual strengths.
There are many ways to approach a mural, from straight-up drawing it, using grids, stencils... but the easiest way to transfer a drawing to a wall is to project an image and trace. But what if the hallway is too narrow to cast a large image? We wanted life-size figures but our projector could only cast an image about 3 foot tall in that hallway as it's fairly narrow.
So instead, we used a combination of methods to create our mural. We projected images in a classroom onto large paper for each figure. Then we traced them in permanent marker to bleed through that paper so we could rub pencil on the backs of the drawings to essentially create giant carbon paper transfer. We spaced these out along the wall for the mural and made adjustments till we were happy with the composition. Using blue tape we secured the figures and traced by pressing hard with a dull pencil. These transfers were re-drawn again with permanent marker, and painted in with heavy-body acrylics that we got through a Donor's Choose campaign. We re-outlined the figures with Elmer's paint markers, and touched up the wall.
The results were pretty good, and during the whole process the administration, teachers, and other students gave us many compliments. The building tours now start in that hallway as they talk about our various programs of study and certification opportunities for students. What was once a boring hallway to connect parts of the building, is now a featured element of the school's recruitment tours and highlights our art program to all who visit.
You can see the initial sketch in the first image below, and how the idea grew to include all of our program areas. At the end of the mural project, students completed a review, sharing what they learned in the process, what they might have done differently if they could, and a critique. Most agreed it was harder than they imagined, but rewarding. Another issue to address is that if we are all working on this together, the artist, who's design was selected, should be willing to let go of some control and allow other voices to be incorporated into the design. This was like color selections, and some simple personal touches. We learned to work as a team and celebrate our individual strengths.
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