Washes of blue, brown
Tohatchi murals created by students to illustrate local history, pride

Angelica Showalter pencils in a corral before painting on a mural at Tohatchi Middle School on March 17. The art classes at the school are in the process of painting murals in the halls. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

TOHATCHI — Right now there are only washes of blue and brown paint, but soon, the brown will become the familiar Window Rock sandstone and the image of the famous Navajo Chief Manuelito will be formed to grace the wall by the social science classroom at Tohatchi Middle School.

The eighth-grade students in the school’s art classes have been painting the murals in the hallways and on the walls of the school for the past five years.

“Some of them have taken that long to do,” art teacher Sharon Swindler said.

The Manuelito mural was requested by the social studies teacher Mr. Brown. Other teachers also requested the murals and they are now being painted outside the science lab and the drama classroom. Students are also working on pillars demonstrating the principles of “Character Counts” at the request of the counselor and on a cultural mural in the school’s cafeteria at the request of the janitor.

“It’s just a collaboration of people asking us,” Swindler said.

The project began with a mural outside the art classroom five years ago, she said. From there, other teachers began requesting for murals to be painted in their hallways. Now a lumberjack stands outside the school’s wood shop class and images of China take the imagination to a foreign country just right outside the library.

Much of the artwork is inspired by cartoon characters and movies, such as “Jumanji” at the library’s entrance.

“That’s where this idea evolved from. All the library books are popping out,” Swindler said.

Other murals include representations of Mother Earth and Father Sky, the Gallup McKinley County Schools logo and Navajo rugs in the school’s colors.

Miranda Plummer was painting bears on one of the pillars in the main hallway. She has been working on the pillars for 2 months, she said.

Plummer has been taking art classes for three years and enjoys drawing and painting. She used both skills in creating the painting on the Character Counts pillar.

Plummer said that the murals will bring “memories of when I was in mid school.”

She was being helped by Andrew Begaye Tuesday during their last class of the day.

Begaye has mostly been working on the mural in the cafeteria.

“I think it’s going OK. We’re getting there,” he said.

Daven Nez was doing pencil drawings for the mural outside the science lab. He has been taking Swindler’s class since sixth grade and is currently taking two art classes.

Nez said he sees room for improvement, especially by adding more detail.

“I’m just taking my time. It can’t be done all at once,” he said.

Taylor Smith was painting the stage in the mural of a theater production of “Beauty and the Beast” near the school’s main entrance.

“It’s going to be awesome,” she said.

When asked what she enjoys about art class, Smith exclaimed, “Painting!” She also painted several of the Character Counts poles in the hallway.

Principal Bart Standley said that the murals enhance the school.

“As we came into this new building, we left a building that had some pretty nice murals in it,” he said.

He said that some of the student-muralists even return to the school to see their work.

“We actually have high school students that come to see what’s been done since they left,” Standley said.

Standley said that the school is fighting hard to make sure that the art classes continue during this time of decreasing budgets for public schools and increasing emphasis on reading and math.

“Our kids, and Navajo people generally, are really artistically inclined and they’re very visual learners,” he said. “I think helping kids harness that — to be able to draw what they’re seeing — helps them academically and spiritually.”