NEWS RELEASE:
BUCYRUS — The hallways of the Bucyrus Elementary School and Bucyrus Secondary School took on new life thanks to the Ohio Arts Council TeachArtsOhio program and resident artist Ms. Vickie Murphy. The mosaics, completed during the 2016-2017 school year are located in the Elementary School office and first floor hallway across from the Secondary School Media Center.
“Vickie developed three designs after group discussions with each class about what they would like to see in a mural,” said Bucyrus High School Art teacher Michael Striker. “Students voted on the designs to find the one that would be used for the project.”
The timeline for the Secondary School mural began with initial conversations during the fall of 2016 and concluded with project completion in May 2017. The Elementary School mural began when Patrick Moore, BES Art teacher, was hired in 2015.
“I had the vision of doing a mural since the first day I joined the Redmen family,” Moore said. “I jumped on the opportunity to have a professional mosaic artist come in and really give our students an in-depth experience with the Ohio Arts Council’s assistance in 2016.”
Moore and Murphy both had a vision for a mural that was big and bold. The Elementary School had just started its journey to becoming a Leader in Me school, so the theme decision was easy for the duo.
“We had a good budget and with some of her personal donations we were able to create our first mosaic in the Elementary School’s main office,” explained Moore. “The timing of everything was perfect for our first mosaic venture and it all fell very neatly into place.”
It took the Elementary students an entire school year to make the 7 habits tree in the BES office. Students from second through fifth grade, along with help from Moore and Murphy, brought the project to life.
Both schools are in the process of new mosaic projects. Elementary students have scaled back the size of theirs to individual projects, while Secondary School students are taking on another big project outdoors.
“The current project we are working on is a mural on an eight foot by twelve foot poured cement wall,” said Striker. “This will be located in the grass area beside the high school teachers’ parking lot.”
“Our mosaics are quite a bit smaller this year,” said Moore. “Other than a brief review on the details of mosaic making, the students were able to jump right into the process of making our new Bucyrus Redmen mascot and the whimsical, imagination creation for the library.”
Moore has other plans for several different areas of the Elementary School. His vision includes an outdoor mosaic on the steps of BES and on the doorway leading into the art room.
“This has been a very substantial experience for the students,” said Striker. “This is one that not only has a large impact on the student’s lives but will be a long-standing imprint on the lives of our future students.”
The mosaic projects were featured during the March 2018 regular meeting of the Bucyrus City School District Board of Education. Vicki Murphy, along with Secondary School students Caleigh Rister, Hailie Russell, and Karson Kimmel, presented the mosaic programs at both buildings during the meeting. Visit www.oac.ohio.gov to learn more about the Ohio Arts Council and its programs to strengthen investment and engagement in the arts around Ohio.