A Start on the Sky

Last Thursday, CITYarts interns, a host of volunteers, Jamie, and Adam all continued making progress on the mural. The task set forth for the day was to begin work on the sky and the upper portion of the mural. What at first seemed to be a daunting task proved to a lot of fun for the artists and volunteers alike! Bright oranges, pinks, yellows, and reds had been chosen by the artists for the sky. After using so many different shades of blue for the expansive ocean below, it was a great change to be using warm colors to paint a beautiful sunset. While some of the interns and volunteers opted to use rollers to paint the larger, smooth parts of the sky, others chose to use the smaller brushes to paint around the clouds and apply paint to the cracks in the wall. Jamie and Adam were continuing to sketch in the clouds and other details on the mural as we began to paint. As the afternoon unfolded, we could start to feel the rain showers coming. We stopped painting for the day in order to give the paint layers that we had just applied to the wall enough time to dry before the weather turned. Nonetheless, we still made a great deal of progress for the day on the sky. I cannot wait to see how the sky turns out when we are finished! It is sure to look phenomenal! Last Thursday was my final visit to the wall during my summer internship at CITYarts. Working at the mural site and being able to actually take part in the process has been incredibley rewarding. Watching as the kids' ideas and sketches materialized--as Jamie and Adam brought their ideas to fruition has been amazing. I never thought such a such a neat, powerfully inspiring message could transform an old brick wall into a beautiful work of art. I have to admit that my first days spent at the wall were not the most exciting. We tediously scraped the old layers of paint of the wall, cleaned it, picked off shrubs, washed, and then later primed the wall. But once Jamie and Adam opened up the cans of paint, laid out the initial sketch, and gave us the go ahead, the energy and enthusiasm started flowing! Being able to apply bright brush strokes on the wall while surrounded by other enthusiastic volunteers made each day spent at the wall so enjoyable. It was always surprising at the end of each day, to climb down the scaffolding and walk 20 yards back from the wall to take it all in. The progress being made and the sense of teamwork that went into each part of the mural was admirable. Just by painting your individual section on your story of the scaffolding allowed you to contribute to the greater whole. Participating in this mural project proved to be a great experience!

Please keep checking back on the blog for updates about this exciting project!
Sally, CITYarts intern