Wanting to get real-world experiences with art in hopes of becoming a graphic designer in the future, Sydney Barkley, senior, joined the new Arts and Design Applications class.

“I thought it would be interesting to see how to use art in the real world and with actual clients. That’s what this class is all about,” Barkley said.

Christian Pierce, band teacher, reached out to the class to see if anyone would be interested in painting a mural for the Performing Arts Department. Barkley, and seniors Kiley Markley and later Kara Miller took interest in the opportunity.

Working as a group, the three students designed the mural online and used a projector to sketch it onto the wall outside of the orchestra classroom. 

Each student is working on one letter to spell out MHS, and each letter is filled in with different music icons. Barkley is working on the “S.”

“Each of our letters are very different, so at first we thought we did it wrong, but then we saw it as fun and positive,” Barkley said.  “We like showing our different styles and it ties together nicely.”

Miller designed and is painting the “H,” Markley is creating the “M” and soon all three will add the music staff in the background.

“Working in a group has been positive for me because I feel like I’m not very capable of knowing when I’m expecting too much of myself,” Miller said.

Abbey Gradle, art teacher, allowed the students to have full creative control of the project, and just helped them get approval for the mural.

“I see how everything is going, or if they need different materials I source that out,” Gradle said. “I help them maneuver the logistics sides of things.”