Mount Pleasant Academy fifth graders gather in front of the finished mural in the school's hallway.
As a way to leave their mark on elementary school, Mount Pleasant Academy fifth graders transformed a blank wall in the school's hallway into a colorful piece of art.
Created by artists in residence Amy and Rick Sargent, the mural seeks to encapsulate the elementary school experience at the historic school in the Old Village. The main focal point of the mural is the five silhouettes that represent different stages of a student’s growth in elementary school. The first silhouette shows a parent and student walking to school, the next is a student on a bike followed by a student walking to school to show their independence. The next silhouette represents students with disabilities by depicting a student pushing another in a wheelchair. The final silhouette shows a student walking in the opposite direction of the others to represent a fifth grader entering the next phase of schooling.
Mount Pleasant Academy fifth graders paint the silhouettes on the mural.
The background of the mural features vertical rainbow stripes and “MPA” in arched lettering. The Sargents, who designed the mural, wanted to make sure the artwork represented the school, so they decided to ask the fifth graders their favorite memory of their time at the school. The border of the mural includes icons that represent the students’ answers, including the talent show, teachers versus fifth grade kickball game, theater performances, book buddies and ice cream Fridays.
The Sargents wanted the students to actively participate in the creation of the mural, in addition to helping out with the concept. The nearly 100 students in fifth grade took turns painting sections of the mural in groups of four.
“The engagement of that was priceless,” said Rick Sargent, who is a fine arts professor at The Citadel. “They wanted to keep going and asked ‘When am I coming back to paint?’”
Rick Sargent said they used the process as a teaching moment for the students by showing them how to prep the wall before painting and the techniques for painting on a wall. Amy Sargent, who studied sculpture art in college, teaches several workshops in the community.
Fifth grade students at Mount Pleasant Academy paint sections of the mural under the guidance of Rick Sargent.
The students did not know what the final mural was going to look like, so they got to see the artwork come to life stroke by stroke over the course of two weeks.
Now, the previously blank wall serves as a reminder of what the school community values.
“The time here at this school is precious and it’s a treasure,” said Rick Sargent, who is a parent of a fifth grader at MPA and two other daughters who went to the school. “The engagement that they get here is a treasure, the teachers here are a treasure and I hope in some way that [mural] communicates this.”
The project was fully funded by parents and supporters of the school’s PTA as a part of the artists in residence program that started this year.
“Our aim was to expose children to more avenues of art and this opportunity seemed like a wonderful legacy to leave,” said Katie Womble, the president of the PTA. “We have a wonderful community that supports and provides assistance to us in many ways for all of our fundraising efforts so that we can do programs like this.”
Rick Sargent said this project and other art initiatives supported by the PTA give students the opportunity to experience art in a personal way.
“It really does feel like a piece of our school community just to have parents involved, artists involved and students involved,” added Womble.
