I was asked to be the artist in residence for the Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts by their art and music teachers. The 3rd grade students were learning about saving the Los Angeles River at the time. I decided to stay for the rest of the term instead of just one month so we could develop and create a permanent mural for the school. We started by learning about the history and animals of the river and then creating drawings that related to saving the river. Using their drawings and ideas they learned about the process of make a composition and final drawing. Then we all helped transfer the drawing on the board for the final 4 foot by 10 foot mural. The students came in every day to work on the panels. All other students were welcome so I placed a calendar outside my studio and they filled in spots at 30 minute intervals. I had very generous assistance from the parents. One with welding abilities built a frame while other parents painted the hall and installed lighting. It now resides in the entry hall that leads to the main school room which is a transformed commercial warehouse space composed of shipping containers laid out end to end and stacked painted in primary colors.
