What we are planning.

The Space.

Local artist, Jeremiah Johnson, will be working directly with approximately 250  WAHS art students and teachers, Carrie Bosch and Lori Crossley to develop and execute  a permanently installed mural at the Williamsport Area High School. The project will take approximately three weeks to complete from beginning to end. The title of the piece will be Education is Knowledge and Knowledge is Power. Students will illustrate their ideas of knowledge and the value of knowledge in their lives. Student's personal stories, family histories and the idea of "the more you know, the more you can do to change the world" will be the central themes throughout the mural. Students will work on individual artworks in the art room that will form a whole as the individual artworks are arranged together to make a mural forming a giant grid creating a democracy of images. The mural will be installed in the centrally located stairwell in the HUB of the Williamsport Area High School. The finished mural will begin on the walls leading to the stairwell on the first floor and wrap around and fill the space leading to the second floor HUB. This stairway also serves as a metaphor for the ladder to success in life.

Students will be directly involved with learning the entire public art installation process, such as making the artwork, installing the artwork, photographing and videotaping student progress, writing artist statements, writing press releases and writing thank you notes. The process will allow students to understand  and practice creative thinking, and will also help them experience project development from start to finish.  Students will learn about the artistic process and the thought and organization involved with making public art.  With this knowledge students will begin to understand how they too are capable of developing their own creative projects. 

 The overall design is based on transitional color; color that subtly changes from one section to the next as your eyes move across the surface of the space.  Students will develop the images, both individually and in groups.  The majority of the mural will be painted with acrylic paint, with a variety of other mediums to be used by different classes. Various painting, drawing, and printmaking techniques will be explored in Ms. Crossley’s classes.  Digitally manipulated images and photographs printed directly on canvas will be made in Miss. Bosch’s classes. 

One of the most innovative aspects of this mural is how it will be constructed.  The mural is painted on a primed canvas-like parachute material and then adhered to the walls using a newly formulated, non-toxic acrylic gel medium.  Once dry,  the material becomes part of the wall itself, even exposing the shape of the bricks; just like it was painted directly on the wall.  There are benefits to this new process.  The material actually strengthens the wall and adds more protection than if the wall was simply painted.  The colors will never peel or flake off, because they are embedded in the material and acrylic clear coat.  The mural is fully washable once protected by the varnish and repels most stains, markers and spray-paints.  The primed parachute material is worked on in the studio or the classroom in small sections and then adhered to the wall. It can be run through a printing press, a laser printer, drawn on with a variety of materials, cut into, screen printed, and even collaged with paper or fabric. 

Once the mural is completed, there will be a public reception to unveil the completed artwork to students, parents, teachers, administrators, staff and the community at large. This will also serve as the culminating event to display student photographs, video documentation and written accounts of the entire mural making process. When completed, the mural will be a visual testament to t he importance to knowledge and what can be accomplished with the power of knowledge. The mural will be a great visual success in the promotion of the Williamsport High School and  for the community.

Students will be directly involved with learning the entire public art installation process, such as making the artwork, installing the artwork, photographing and videotaping student progress, writing artist statements, writing press releases and writing thank you notes. The process will allow students to understand  and practice creative thinking, and will also help them experience project development from start to finish.  Students will learn about the artistic process and the thought and organization involved with making public art.  With this knowledge students will begin to understand how they too are capable of developing their own creative projects. 

 The overall design is based on transitional color; color that subtly changes from one section to the next as your eyes move across the surface of the space.  Students will develop the images, both individually and in groups.  The majority of the mural will be painted with acrylic paint, with a variety of other mediums to be used by different classes. Various painting, drawing, and printmaking techniques will be explored in Ms. Crossley’s classes.  Digitally manipulated images and photographs printed directly on canvas will be made in Miss. Bosch’s classes. 

One of the most innovative aspects of this mural is how it will be constructed.  The mural is painted on a primed canvas-like parachute material and then adhered to the walls using a newly formulated, non-toxic acrylic gel medium.  Once dry,  the material becomes part of the wall itself, even exposing the shape of the bricks; just like it was painted directly on the wall.  There are benefits to this new process.  The material actually strengthens the wall and adds more protection than if the wall was simply painted.  The colors will never peel or flake off, because they are embedded in the material and acrylic clear coat.  The mural is fully washable once protected by the varnish and repels most stains, markers and spray-paints.  The primed parachute material is worked on in the studio or the classroom in small sections and then adhered to the wall. It can be run through a printing press, a laser printer, drawn on with a variety of materials, cut into, screen printed, and even collaged with paper or fabric. 

Once the mural is completed, there will be a public reception to unveil the completed artwork to students, parents, teachers, administrators, staff and the community at large. This will also serve as the culminating event to display student photographs, video documentation and written accounts of the entire mural making process. When completed, the mural will be a visual testament to t he importance to knowledge and what can be accomplished with the power of knowledge. The mural will be a great visual success in the promotion of the Williamsport High School and  for the community.