Artist asks students for input designing 50-foot art piece for schoolyard project
When local artist Leonard Wilder asked Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School seventh- and eighth-graders to brainstorm about the future of their city, many envisioned a thriving community where people had jobs and homes and felt pride in where they lived.
Wilder, a 1965 graduate of Chiloquin, visited the school’s shop and art classes last week to get ideas for the 50-by-10-foot mural he will create as part of the Chiloquin Green Schoolyard Project. The mural will represent the past, present, and future. Art Ochoa, a 1970 graduate of Chiloquin and schoolyard project coordinator, joined him. They asked students to focus on the future.
“We’re trying to get feedback from our seventh- and eighth-graders since they were involved in the original schoolyard idea,” Ochoa said. “We want them to continue to be invested.”
Art teacher Cathy Nevala and shop teacher Rob Dunham urged students to brainstorm what they want Chiloquin to be in 100 years.
“Don’t just stop at what you think can happen. What do you want to see?” Dunham asked, adding, “Let your ideas flow. Don’t hold back. Think outside the box.”
The $1.3 million schoolyard project includes a redesigned and enhanced playground area, a covered outdoor basketball court, interpretative walking paths, and community garden spaces at the elementary school. Construction started in late October.
Eighth-graders Jenna Aldred and Raina Wilson, who participated in the artistic brainstorming session, spoke in support of the project at a Klamath County School District Board of Directors two years ago.
“I think with everyone in class coming up with ideas, this mural is going to look cool,” Jenna said. “In 10 to 20 years, we want the community as a whole to be nicer, with more people accepting of change, less vandalism, and more nice things.”
Raina’s list included flourishing plants, beautiful homes, and a way for people to be able to take care of themselves.
“I wasn’t fully expecting it to actually happen,” she said of the schoolyard project. “It’s so exciting to see all the work and money put into this.”
Students continued to brainstorm and sketch out ideas this week. Wilder said he expects to start on the mural in January.
“Thank you for all your input and ideas for the project,” he told the class. “They will trigger my imagination. We’re going to look at your ideas and develop them.
The Chiloquin Green Schoolyard Project is a collaboration between the Trust for Public Land, the Willamette Partnership, Chiloquin Elementary School, Chiloquin City Council, Chiloquin FIRST, The Klamath Tribes, Chiloquin Visions in Progress, Ford Institute for Community Building, Healthy Klamath/Blue Zones Project, Oregon Health & Outdoors Initiative, and the Klamath County School District.
|