Featured Event: Mural Unveiling at West Union Elementary School
Hillsboro School District
Know, Value, and Empower Every Student to Achieve Their Dreams!
West Union Elementary School invites the community to view its amazing new mural - a labor of love and learning that has spanned the last two school years.?
In the spring of 2023, 4th grade teacher Kim Harrington submitted a grant application to the Hillsboro Schools Foundation (HSF) for her proposal titled: “This is Where we Belong,” which envisioned the completion of several art-based projects designed to highlight West Union’s new logo and build community with students, staff, and families. Happily, Harrington was among the awardees and received a grant of $5700 to begin her projects in the fall.?
One of the permanent art installations was to be a huge mural along the school’s breezeway. Harrington reached out to Susan Curington - a local artist whom she had met several years prior while Curington was doing a different project - to see if she might have interest and availability to design and create the mural.?
“I had just finished painting a mural in a private home,” Curington recalls, “and it wasn’t ten minutes later that I got a text from Kim asking if I would be interested in doing a mural at her school! I immediately said yes.”
The mural at the private home was big - 9’x15’ to be exact - but the mural at West Union would be much bigger at 9’x42’!
Curington specializes in painting botanicals and Oregon landscapes, and she knew the idea was to create a sense of place that was grounded in realism but that still felt whimsical. She met with each classroom of students, Kindergarten through 6th grade, to see what they loved about the community and about the world around them.?
Curington asked the students: “When you’re in nature, what do you do? What makes you happy?”?
She began building her vision from there, making sure to include trees, flowers, grasses, insects, and animals that are native to the area. Of course, she also had to include some wolverines - the school mascot!?
The first step, though, was to prime her large “canvas,” which was done with the help of several family and community members in February 2024. It was at this stage that students got to have their first hands-on experience with the mural: every single student had the chance to add their signature and/or a message in the primer coat!
“I wrote my name and ‘I love West Union!’” exclaimed 4th grader Niharika.?
Helping Curington along the way were several 6th grade interns. Their jobs ranged from research to journalism and photography to being an artist assistant.?
Best friends Erika and Charlotte explained how they and other interns helped Curington two to three times per week painting, taking pictures, and helping younger students participate. When asked what they learned, they popcorned “contrast, color mixing, shading, blending, texture, realism.” Both indicated they had always loved art, and that this experience has made them more confident.?
While she conceded feeling slightly intimidated to take on such a large project and work so closely with young students, Curington said the endeavor has been “a satisfying, enriching experience that has taught me I have infinite patience for children.”?
The involvement of every single student in the school - and even some alumni - in the project was one of the most rewarding aspects.?
“Susan truly has gifted our community with a legacy in this mural,” says Harrington. “She has selflessly given of her time and talents to create a beautiful and meaningful experience for everyone. Some of our most impacted students have been able to see the calm and beauty in art, and every day - as a new creature, detail, or aspect of the mural is completed - brings whispers and squeals of joy from staff and students alike. We cannot begin to repay Susan for her time, as her ‘payment’ doesn’t even begin to cover the dedication and hours she has given to our school. It is incredible.”?
The mural unveiling will take place on the same day as the school’s STEAM Night. Stop by to see the mural any time between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; STEAM Night is 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.