The Marcus A. Foster Elementary School Martin Luther King Day Mural Project
Sponsored by Learning For Life
It all began in the first week of December, 2002, when I saw an ad on an Artist's Message Board wanting an artist to do a mural on the theme of Martin Luther King’s message at an Oakland Public Elementary School.
I emailed Julie McDonald, the events coordinator from Learning For Life, which was the non-profit funding the mural. She and I met to discuss it. She liked my design and informed me that there is no art and no art teachers in Oakland Public Elementary schools anymore. I was horrified, trying to imagine my dismal life in elementary school without art to look forward to...
Because I was layed off at the time, I decided to devote the month to the mural, part of which meant going into the classrooms with Julie and getting the kids to draw pictures to go in the mural.
To me, Martin Luther King’s basic message is that we can all live together and grow together in the warmth and light of the Spirit, and I saw that symbolized in a garden with a giant sun shining down upon it. I wanted to have the students draw creatures that would live together harmoniously in the garden.
The idea is to give the kids a way to foster their creativity and build some positive self-esteem by showing them a project from start to finish that they were involved in, that now beautifies their school. The neighborhood that surrounds this school is poor and infested with drugs.
I called my friend, John, in Denver, Colorado, who owns his own paint company and has over 30 years of experience in residential and comm
ercial construction, to advise me on how to proceed with this incredibly rough stucco exterior wall. He was my technical consultant and strong spiritual support through the whole project.
Julie, her boyfriend, 3 Americorps workers and I met on the weekends prior to Martin Luther King Day to plaster and prime the wall in preparation for painting on January 20, 2003.
I emailed Julie McDonald, the events coordinator from Learning For Life, which was the non-profit funding the mural. She and I met to discuss it. She liked my design and informed me that there is no art and no art teachers in Oakland Public Elementary schools anymore. I was horrified, trying to imagine my dismal life in elementary school without art to look forward to...
Because I was layed off at the time, I decided to devote the month to the mural, part of which meant going into the classrooms with Julie and getting the kids to draw pictures to go in the mural.
To me, Martin Luther King’s basic message is that we can all live together and grow together in the warmth and light of the Spirit, and I saw that symbolized in a garden with a giant sun shining down upon it. I wanted to have the students draw creatures that would live together harmoniously in the garden.
The idea is to give the kids a way to foster their creativity and build some positive self-esteem by showing them a project from start to finish that they were involved in, that now beautifies their school. The neighborhood that surrounds this school is poor and infested with drugs.
I called my friend, John, in Denver, Colorado, who owns his own paint company and has over 30 years of experience in residential and comm
ercial construction, to advise me on how to proceed with this incredibly rough stucco exterior wall. He was my technical consultant and strong spiritual support through the whole project.
Julie, her boyfriend, 3 Americorps workers and I met on the weekends prior to Martin Luther King Day to plaster and prime the wall in preparation for painting on January 20, 2003.
“I have a Dream that we will see a rainbow on a rainy day full of stars with the sun shining down on our faces.
I have a Dream that children all over the United States should live to see the wonderful things in life like birds, bees, and even a whale in the deep blue sea."
I have a Dream that children all over the United States should live to see the wonderful things in life like birds, bees, and even a whale in the deep blue sea."