Bulletin Board Murals

The first three phrases of our mural inspired by the quote, “Live simply, dream big, be grateful, give thanks, and laugh lots.”

Alicia York

After years of installing, designing, and rearranging student artwork and glossy posters on the 45' (13.5 m) bulletin board outside my classroom, I ordered some extra-wide roll paper and started making murals with my students.

Our bulletin board murals are a beautiful example of what can happen when students collaborate to maintain a public space. The paper murals can be temporary or permanent, and based upon your own time frame. When it’s time to replace the mural, you can roll it up for a rainy day or cut it down to relocate or repurpose it.

Our bulletin board murals are a beautiful example of what can happen when students collaborate to maintain a public space.

Mural One
Our first mural was a premade pattern that we treated like a page from a coloring book. I rolled out the paper across the floor and drew long swirling lines, concentric circles, and large doodle shapes that could be painted with flat color. When I had a small class, we would go out in the hall and paint with a single color. When students finished work early, I assigned them another space or color to paint. Some students returned during a free period to refine areas that didn’t meet their expectations. The finished design included our school colors with pops of silver.

Mural Two
One year, my Art Club students had various projects running simultaneously. On a blank canvas of roll paper, I assigned students large individual circles on which to draw their favorite classes, sports, and extracurricular activities. Around each of the circles we drew rings, and then we painted the background purple for our town, Lombard (the Lilac Village). We added bubbles featuring the words to our school chant floating through the background. The final mural combined vivid colors and individual student stories.

Mural Three
Our school’s name is long, so stretching out the letters in a geometric font made the space easier to fill. After the school name was written, students used yardsticks to divide the continuous design into several sections. Students painted the foreground and background with a gradual shift from light to dark using our school colors and a complementary scheme for the background. Mistakes were easily covered with a patch of paper and seamlessly painted over.

Mural Four
Our morning announcements always end with a quote of the day. After returning to school amidst the pandemic, I was inspired by one quote in particular: “Live simply, dream big, be grateful, give thanks, and laugh lots.” Our 45' mural would contain those five phrases in 9' (2.5 m) sections.

I pulled out some graph paper and drew a quick plan, got help from my teaching neighbor to staple up the paper, and used the tiles on the floor to count and measure. The project began slowly with a sign-up sheet, time slots, individual brushes, and disposable cups of paint. With the help of an art club of high-energy students, we finished the mural in a couple of hours! The alternating monochromatic scale and color representing our Lilac Village worked together beautifully.

Final Thoughts
Our ongoing murals are inclusive to all talents and provide students with a refreshing break from the everyday routine. To go from nothing to something so dynamic is always uplifting. Try this kind of collaboration with your students!

Alicia York is an art teacher at Glenn Westlake Middle School in Lombard, Illinois. ayork@sd44.org