It started as a competition but ended up being one of Felix McKenna’s biggest projects at CHS. McKenna worked for months on the mural that is now displayed outside CHS. At the beginning of his junior year, he competed in a competition held for designing the mural that would later be hung up outside of the school. McKenna won the competition, and alongside 10 other students, immediately got to work.
“It was quite big, so we were all able to work at the same time,” McKenna said.
The group of students began work on the mural in April and ended in June. Finishing touches were put on the mural this year after McKenna had left for college.
“That was one of my first ever murals that I’ve ever participated in.” artist Bee Whalen said. “ I had a really great time getting to kind of work in helping a hand with the designing, and kind of the idea process for what we were imagining.
Whalen was a freshman when the process started, and got very invested in his first mural. He enjoyed working with older peers and getting lots of feedback on his work.
“It was a little stressful sometimes but it was definitely worth the outcome in the long run.” Whalen said. “I ended up staying late quite a few days. I worked a lot on some of the core colors [because] it took a long time to cover all that space.”
McKenna was disappointed that the mural wasn’t put up during his time at CHS, but they’re excited to come back and see the mural.
“The mural was a pretty big chunk of the art that I did in high school,” McKenna said. “And now when I go back to my high school, I’ll see the mural that I signed just on the building.”
McKenna’s goal was to illustrate the halls during passing time. They wanted to show the business in the hallways, which is shown by the winding path. The main focus of the mural is the zebra, which symbolizes the school as a whole. Whalen adds that they wanted to emphasize the small student body.
“We have all these different little smaller communities within the community, like all the different clubs.” Whalen said. “So that was something we really wanted to highlight too, the abstract kind of nature of the halls.”
On the walls in the mural, there are a few posters that show different aspects of specific parts of CHS. One of these is a math club poster, along with a recycling poster. The artists wanted to showcase some of the important clubs at CHS, like math club, CET, and ecology club.
“That’s the time when you talk to all your friends between classes, I feel like that’s very Community,” McKenna said.
Just as McKenna hoped, many students at CHS feel that the mural represents life at CHS, encasing the friendships and social elements of the school.
Sylvia Ellis, a CHS freshman, believes the mural does an excellent job of capturing life at CHS.
“The mural shows how busy the school can be and how much of a community there is,” Ellis said. “The bright colors really pull your attention as you’re walking into the building.”
The mural is a needed and colorful addition to the exterior of CHS, allowing artists like McKenna to leave a lasting impact on the school.
