The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Friday, June 2, 2000


SHARPSVILLE

Spanish students’ art graces what was previously a ‘big, blank wall’

By Erin Remai
Herald Staff Writer

Four Sharpsville High School students have made their mark on the school — on the wall of their Spanish classroom to be exact.

Junior Jessica Runion and seniors Dawn Schmaling, Shannon Sipos and Meredith Knofsky on Wednesday morning put the finishing touches on a mural depicting several scenes of Spanish history. They had been working on the mural since January during study halls and after school.

The idea for the mural came from their Spanish teacher, Shannon Piehuta. Miss Piehuta said when she was doing classroom observations in college, one of the teachers she observed had his students do a lot of graffiti work in the classroom. “I had a big, blank wall,” Miss Piehuta said.

So, she teamed up with high school art teacher Kris Dworek and selected the students to paint the mural.

“We thought about which kids liked Spanish and could paint really well,” Miss Piehuta said. All four girls were both Spanish and art students.

The collage design for the mural — which features scenes from “Don Quixote de la Mancha,” a portrait of Eva “Evita” Peron, a duplicate of a Picasso painting and pictures of a flamenco dancer and a Spanish castle — was modeled after a Spanish fan of Miss Piehuta’s. She said she wanted the mural to show people, places and events in Spanish history.

Mrs. Dworek helped with the mural and gave the girls tips on blending the paint, Miss Piehuta said.

Shortly after finishing the mural, each girl received a gift that coincided with the part of the mural she painted. Their families visited the classroom on Wednesday to see the mural and to take pictures.

Miss Piehuta said she’ll allow her future students to paint on the classroom walls but she won’t let them paint over the mural.

“They just worked way too hard,” she said. Miss Piehuta said she hopes the mural in her classroom will encourage other students to start murals in other classrooms.

Now that the mural is finished, the girls said they are relieved their work is done and glad they took on the project.

“I’m very, very proud of them,” Miss Piehuta said.



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