Metamorphosis

I finished the entire mural on Friday, April 30th! I started with class visits to 3rd class on Monday, March 8th. The Easter Holidays fell in the middle of it so all in all it took 5 weeks to complete.

Here's a photo taken from the new school garden. You can just about see the vegetable boxes at the bottom of the picture.


There are wild flower seeds planted at the foot of the mural and I can't wait to see them dancing in great sweeps when they're in full blossom.

I had to lay down planks of wood on the freshly sown soil so that I wouldn't disturb any of the seeds. Although I loved the excuse of having to walk the plank with a tin of paint in each hand and a paintbrush in my mouth!

Ghost flowers

Little red hoods!

Coat one finished

Coat two finished. The black trim begins!

Finished!

The baby



Her older sister..

Still growing...

Almost there...

Ta da!











I'm making a mosaic for two 10ft high pillars at the entrance to the school now. They're going to describe the life cycle of the butterfly. I can't stop watching this very beautiful time-lapse video of the butterfly's metamorphosis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUSKxWMIh0

My eyes keep going out of focus with complete wonder at how they do it! When my eyes whirr back into use I'll put up photos of the mosaic!

Horsefly

Hooray! Finished panel two today.

I spent the day with volcanic ash floating in from Iceland and a horsefly who kept circling back to rest on the giant flowers.

Tomorrow onwards and upwards (or more like sidewards) onto panel three! More photos to follow.

Mural II

Mural take two. Panel two!

Here is the drawing for panel number two:

I'm still shaking my head in wonder at the sunny beauty of this week. I went back to muraling on Monday after the Easter break and became so entangled projecting the writing onto the wall and trying to outwit the briars of the sun that I completely failed to notice I was getting sun burnt.



One pink neck and bib later the writing on the wall was finished.



Not before the ever-talented caretaker, Seana, made an amazing fort from a rolling whiteboard and sheet of plywood.

Sun-fort

On Tuesday I drew each individual flower on the wall and gave them their first coat of paint.

This time I had the sun out-foxed. I kept watch of UV rays using the trusty wristwatch-index, a foolproof method for fools like me. Shimmy your watch down your wrist to compare milk-white skin to the hot glow of pink running down your arm. Apply more suntan lotion accordingly.



Today I painted the second coat of paint on the flowers. I also cleaned the sole of a frequent visitor whose small shoe had unfortunately stepped its way right onto the lid of a tin of paint.

Tomorrow I hope to finish this panel. I have to apply a second coat of paint to some areas and go around the black trim with black paint. I'll put up photos tomorrow...that is..if the weather doesn't break!