By Renee Delgado | staff writer
Johnson’s art community is getting many more opportunities to show off their true abilities. These opportunities include creative new murals and a face painting Halloween treat provided by Art Club, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and many other Johnson students.
“A lot of students from the NAHS and art club are putting together some ideas based on quotes from Claudia Taylor Johnson and things that she said about using the world as your inspiration and art being a really important part of the world,” art teacher and head of National Art Honor Society Lisa Politi said.
The first mural that the NAHS is painting is located by the bus stops.
“Mr. Mehlbrech actually approved a couple of different ideas. He wanted to do something a little bit more ‘Johnson-y’ like with jaguars and bluebonnets, but I think the kids this year wanted to get some more creative and abstract, weird things going which aren’t so traditional to the school,” Politi said.
Art students and any students outside the organizations are wanting to go beyond the path of traditional paintings, and use their own imagination to paint some original murals.
“NAHS students as well as art club and any other students outside the organizations are welcome to paint. The main one right now is the one by the bus stops, but we have more to come,” Politi said.
Halloween face painting is also being provided by art teacher and art club manager, Analisa Shinn , as well as Johnson art students on October 31st.
“I came up with this idea as a way to raise a little bit of money for art club. We are going to be doing face painting for Halloween,” Shinn said. “This will start before school around eight o’clock and hopefully during all three lunches out in the courtyard area.”
The few designs students are allowed to pick from range from a car nose and whiskers to a swirls around the eyebrows to create a mask effect.
“It is going to be one dollar per person however, there is only going to be a select number of designs to be chosen from, and that are going to be approved by Mr. Melbrech.”
Principal John Melbrech has graciously supported this spark of creativity by Johnson students.
“With the walls being fairly barren and we being new, we don’t have enough color in the building. We want to make it feel more like Johnson and have school pride. We’re going to put up more different kinds of murals throughout the building to make it feel like home,” Principal John Mehlbrech said. “The idea is to make it feel more inviting, not so much like a prison and more welcoming.”
