Seasons of change, Alaska style

The walls of Finger Lake Elementary School are going through four seasons of change, Alaska style, thanks to the school's Artist in Residency program.

Artists Cheryl Newell and Heather Brandon are painting a 65-foot mural at the school, which represents the four seasons of the surrounding area. There are vibrant paintings of Pioneer Peak in winter, airplanes flying during the spring and local lakes in the summer.

"We wanted it be one continual piece, rather than four separate paintings, one for each season," Newell said. "That was a bit of a challenge."

While the Artist in Residency program isn't something new, the Finger Lake project does have an interesting twist - both women have children who are students at Finger Lake.

"The PTA has raised the money for the last three years, and normally they usually fund an artist to come in and do a project with the students," Brandon said. "This is the first time they've used someone locally, and we are really local."

Brandon works at Finger Lake three-fourths of the time, and is also doing the yearbook for the school. Newell is a local artist, and, together, they are putting in several hours a week at the school. They expect the mural to be complete by May.

"It's a really big project because you can't step back and see the whole painting," Newell said of the 65-foot wall, which is in a hallway. "You have to look at it in sections."

While Brandon and Newell handled much of the largest parts of the painting - getting the skyline painted, and much of the bottom - the students at Finger Lake will get their chance to put the finishing touches on the project in the next few weeks. Students will use different texturing techniques to help paint the tree line for the mural.

"We have 462 students here and they all are going to get a chance to do something with it," Newell said. "We're trying to get 10 students at a time, give them some sponges and let them do some stamping."

Newell said the Artist in Residency program is good for schools, for two reasons.

"It's educational, and it gets students interested in art," Brandon said. "I think it's pretty cool the school decided to do it."

Brandon and Newell said they hope the project helps students learn about Alaska's plants, wildlife and geography. Throughout the painting, Alaska's plants and animals are featured, as well as popular activities such as flying and hiking.