Amber Santos wanted the mural to be a kids’ mural. The local artist didn’t want to design it herself and then have kids fill it in.
The project was part of Oxygen Art Centre’s summer art camp. The mural is in a narrow alley between the buildings at 320 and 324 Vernon St. See lots of photos below.
“The goal here is to allow kids to express their own voices and also have a physical experience. Mural making is very physical,” she said.
“We spent time talking about what it is like to work in a public space rather than by yourself. I think it is important in a public space to include all generations and diverse forms of expression, so when people come here they are going to know that kids did it. They worked really hard.”
“Rather than start with a plan for the mural I wanted to allow them to experiment with painting big, with the texture of the wall, having an experience with the materials, try different kinds of tools, brushes, rollers.
“So we did a lot of different drawing exercises with a focus on collaboration, painting big scale, and when we came to the wall, started experimenting with line. First we did different kinds of lines, then different kinds of shapes that came up based on the lines.
“Then every child had a chance to work on something unique and individual they wanted to express.”
Photos: Bill Metcalfe
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
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