A Day at Sea

A new addition was recently completed at Glendale Preparatory Academy, adding some new classroom spaces. With the new construction came stark white walls that were in great need of a touch of classical art. “We had a clean slate, so the idea was to add something unique rather than purchasing individual paintings like we have in the hallways,” said Glendale Prep Headmaster, Kyle Navarrette.

Navarrette thought a mural of Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer by Vincent van Gogh would be the perfect addition. “The dirt area before the buildout was called ‘Babylon,’ so I’m sure the seascape made sense when you consider the hanging garden of Babylon… I’m sure the Mediterranean Sea was around there somewhere.”

Director of Operations, Jody Mooberry, was in the process organizing a Senior Service Project Day, where seniors held a workday at the school to clean, organize, and beautify the campus. A senior survey given at the end of the year stated they wanted more opportunities to lead and have an impact on the school community. The mural project seemed to be a perfect project for the seniors.

“This is something we did for the first time. The idea was to have seniors serve on campus in a way where we would see the effect of it firsthand. While we often think of the service projects off-campus, I wanted something on campus where they could give back,” said Navarrette.

Maureen Mure, a Studio Art Teacher at Glendale Prep, was called upon to supervise the art installation. Mure is responsible for another Van Gogh mural on the Archway Glendale campus.  Read more about that mural here: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/art-teacher-reaches-for-the-stars/

“As for me, just as with any discipline at, Great Hearts, we looked to the past to learn a technique and a perspective, funneled that into a process, and created something spectacular,” said Mure. “Seniors studied a painting created in June 1888, on the southern beach of France (sand was discovered in his paint), and then those teenagers, within four hours, worked as one to create a moment in time – they experienced Impressionism in all its glory!”

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