By Beth David, Editor
If your travels have not taken you by the south side of the Rogers School this week, you should definitely take a detour and take a peek. The unsightly broken windows, destroyed by vandals, have been replaced with a colorful mural dubbed “Rogers School Starry Night” by some residents.
Using a borrowed lift from Wayne Electric and Alarms, Jay Charbonneau of In-House Custom attaches a beam that the panels will be nailed into to cover the broken glass blocks on the south side of the Rogers School in Fairhaven. Photo by Beth David.
The Vincent van Gogh inspired scene includes a depiction of the school building, and the swirls and colors of van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” but maybe a little brighter.
“I like that the town came up with a name,” said Jamie Lynch, Fairhaven High School Art Club advisor.
The colorful mural on the addition with the original building towering above. Photo by Beth David.
Students of the FHS Art Club and the National Art Honor Society created the mural at the request of Town Planner and Economic Development Director Bill Roth. The Selectboard approved the design.
The labor intensive project included 15 sheets of plywood, each four feet wide by eight feet tall. In-House Custom installed the panels over the broken block glass.
The building has been empty for several years while the town decides if it should be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of.
Using a borrowed lift from Wayne Electric and Alarms, Jay Charbonneau of In-House Custom maneuvers the panel into place to cover the broken windows at the Rogers School in Fairhaven. Photo by Beth David.
The design was created and artistically directed by NAHS president, Art Club VP & graduate, Eve Hartig, said Ms. Lynch and fellow art club advisor Brenda Roveda in an email. Ms. Hartig is now attending MassArt with four other students involved in creating the mural.
“This was a great opportunity for the students to tackle a real world task, especially as artists. With the scale of the mural it was a real challenge!” wrote the two in the email. “I hope the town continues to utilize the talents of our young artists.”
In a follow-up interview, the advisors said they had received more than 30 emails from members of the public, thanking them for the mural.
They admitted that the perfect fit of each panel between the metal pieces was part luck. It was a bit of a guess to know how it would all fit.
“It was pretty labor intensive,” said Ms. Lynch, because students had to take the panels out to work on them, then put them away so the classroom could be used for other classes.
In the end, even Mr. Roth helped with the painting, she said.
“It really took all of us kind of pulling together,” said Ms. Roveda.
The group has three more potential mural projects in the works. The advisors said they would be happy to entertain ideas for more, but the students do have other work and projects they will have to do.
“To bring art to the community is the main objective,” said Ms. Lynch, whether it is on public buildings, private property, or other public spaces.
“I think the kids are really excited to have the opportunity to improve the community,” said Ms. Lynch.
The 60-foot long project was the largest one they have done…so far.
To learn more about the art department at FHS, visit www.fairhavenps.org
The students who worked on the project are: Hannah Berger, Kathryn Borden, Jacob Cabral, Kayci Cournoyer, Klarisa DaSilva, Caroline DeCosta, Emily Desmarais, Eve Hartig, Ben Manning, Quinn Medeiros, Linda Nguyen, Alexandria Pereira. Madyson Pires, Cynthia Robert, Christian Schmidt, Aline Sarkes, Daniel Sarkes; teachers are Jamie Lynch, Christine Neville, Brenda Roveda. •••
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