By KATIE LAZARUS
A mural executed by Otter Valley Union High School students went on display on Tuesday, December 17, in downtown Brandon, on the side of the River Pub & Grill at 18 Center St. The students painted a Vermont-inspired scene of a trout jumping out of a stream on a 4 x 8 ft. panel for an art project led by local artist Douglas Lazarus, 81, of Brandon, that began October 22 and finished on November 19.
“I really liked the other students I was working with. We all had some pretty creative art styles that all worked together. We took a lot of time to work on it and I’m very excited with the outcome,” said Sienna Torres, grade 11.
For three days a week, on different days depending on everyone’s schedule, all the high school art students, grades 9 through 12, were invited to OV art teacher Dakota Rider’s classroom to paint together, along with students from Middle School/High School Art Teacher Tiffiny St. Michaud’s high-school classes.
“It was nice to combine our high school classes,” said Rider. “It built up positivity in our school and built up the art program especially — the kids are wanting to be in here.”
A total of fifteen kids participated, with three standout students who helped the most: Ivy Manchester, grade 12; Sienna Torres, 11th; and AJ French, 9th.
The project began with a watercolor rendering of the concept by Lazarus, which was then projected onto the panel. Under the artist’s professional supervision, students were assigned sections to work on while he painted the fish and waterfall.
“I integrated what they did with my work, and it just blended together. You don’t know who was the professional and who was the student,” said Lazarus. “The kids are all really nice with each other and this project puts a shine on the high school. It’s a great school and Dakota is terrific.”
Manchester said of the experience, “I’m used to painting smaller things, so working on something that big was a change of pace, but it was really interesting and really fun. And coming in on the last day, seeing it all finished, was amazing.”
Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins noted, “The arts have been good to Brandon, and this is a great opportunity for community involvement.”
The mural was unveiled during the OVUHS art show on Dec 11 in the lobby of the school.
“It was great to see the kids dragging their parents over to ‘look what we did with Doug!’ They were all happy, and all three principals were, too,” said Rider.
The owner of the building, Sharon McCabe, gave permission for the mural to be permanently installed and made a contribution. Lazarus also partnered with the Hills and Hollows Fund and Bar Harbor Bank, with additional financial support from OVUHS. The panel was donated by Brandon Ace Hardware.
“I loved working with the kids, and I can see the appeal of being an art teacher. It’s the one class where you’re told, ‘do whatever you think is right.’ How can you be upset with that?” commented Lazarus.
The mural was installed by Brent Casey with the help of Rob Cecot, local friends of Lazarus.
