{"id":14102,"date":"2020-10-07T00:11:32","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T06:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=14102"},"modified":"2020-10-07T00:11:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T06:11:32","slug":"historical-mural-surprises-inspires-alturas-elementary-students-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/07\/historical-mural-surprises-inspires-alturas-elementary-students-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Historical Mural Surprises, Inspires Alturas Elementary Students, Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lori Williams<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
A colorful mural depicting Idaho history graces the fourth-grade classrooms\u2019 exterior walls at Alturas Elementary. Photo credit: Lori Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A colorful mural now greets students between the classroom doors of teachers Stephanie Brown and Kelly O\u2019Neill in the fourth-grade hall at Alturas Elementary in Hailey, but because COVID-19 regulations have restricted the hall\u2019s access, you\u2019ll just have to take the word of staff and the lucky fourth-graders there that it has passed the \u201cCool! Amazing! and Wow!\u201d test.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe teachers have been really supportive and amazed at the mural. Staff in the building have made a special trip down the fourth-grade hall to check it out,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThe students think it is very cool, and so does Principal Brad, who granted permission for the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon arrival this new and unpredictable school year, students were greeted by the vibrant surprise on the wall in the alcove of the two adjoining classroom doors. The cobalt-blue-toned graphic panorama dramatically depicts a snapshot of Idaho state history, which is traditionally studied in fourth-grade Social Studies curriculum.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s son, Zack, a graphic digital designer, designed and painted the piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my first mural, and took about a full week\u2019s time to complete,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n

The younger Brown is a team member at CRU, an interdenominational Christian organization providing global aid, worldwide ministries, and media evangelism, and headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Currently working remotely from his parents\u2019 home in Idaho, Brown would finish his online Florida workday at 3 p.m. Idaho time, and then spend several hours into the evening working on the mural, plus a few weekends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was finished before the school year started,\u201d said Stephanie Brown, who gave her son complete freedom with the wall\u2019s design, with the condition, of course, it be a reflection of Idaho\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI researched historical Idaho photos, and happened upon one of a woman from the Shoshone-Bannock tribe. I thought it was striking,\u201d Zack Brown said. \u201cThe man represents a pioneer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He chose the vivid and brilliant color scheme thinking to incorporate the ambiance of alpenglow, highlighted in the pink and gold reflection on the mountains. From those colors, the rest of the palette expanded. Brown used regular house paint for the mural, except for the banner, which is whiteboard paint, allowing for the use of dry erase markers and the option to change out the message, which currently reads, \u201cEducation Prepares You for Life!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to imagine the Valley\u2019s mountains, plains, rivers and forests within the depth of the mural. There\u2019s a teepee, a wagon, an eagle\u2014all reflective of local and state history and wildlife.<\/p>\n

Fourth-grade Social Studies aims to expand a student\u2019s knowledge and appreciation of their own local history, as well as American history. Fourth-graders also learn geography and how it affects a community. The mural speaks to their year of study. Brown even added a whimsical touch with a last-minute sketch of a long-eared rabbit on one of the alcove\u2019s short side walls. The other side has a tiny canoe disappearing down a river\u2014Lewis and Clark no doubt aboard.<\/p>\n

In addition to working for CRU, Brown also does freelance graphic and digital design. His work has been featured in Sun Valley Magazine and Territory, a quarterly magazine featuring the best of Boise life. He also illustrated the children\u2019s book seen at retailers around town, Brownie and Bo at the Big Wood Diner.<\/p>\n

Next up for Zack, he says he likely will be working remotely from Idaho for an extended period due to the pandemic. And that\u2019s good news for fifth-grade teachers, who have commissioned him for a mural in their hallway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lori Williams A colorful mural now greets students between the classroom doors of teachers Stephanie Brown and Kelly O\u2019Neill in the fourth-grade hall at Alturas Elementary in Hailey, but because COVID-19 regulations have restricted the hall\u2019s access, you\u2019ll just have to take the word of staff and the lucky fourth-graders there that it has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18,36],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-art","8":"category-news","9":"category-slider"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}