Students create lasting tribute

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This article was published 17/06/2014 (4337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of graduating Grade 9 students has left a lasting mark on its junior high school.

On Fri., June 13, Andrew Mynarski VC School students unveiled an exterior mural, located on the McPhillips Street side of the building, honouring the school’s namesake, Second World War hero Andrew Mynarski.

The 24-feet-wide by 10-feet-high artwork features an image of Mynarski, a posthumous Victoria Cross recipient who lost his life attempting to save a fellow Royal Canadian Air Force officer on June 13, 1944. On Mynarski’s right is an image of students playing in the schoolyard.

“Of course we wanted to represent Andrew Mynarski, but we also wanted to represent something about our school. We have Andrew Mynarski, who is the namesake of our school, but we also have what our school is about,” said Grade 9 student Ellina Pe Benito, one of 24 students behind the project.

Mynarski art teacher Meghan Davidson said the mural took six months to complete and was made possible by an Artist in the Schools grant from Manitoba Arts Council. She said the students designed and created the mural themselves, receiving assistance from Whitemouth-based mural artist Annie Bergen, who spent five days working with the students.

“I showed them the things I have learned as a muralist, how to do some shading and highlighting to enhance the image, make it pop out more to the public,” Bergen said. “It’s obviously competing with a lot in the city, so you want it to pop, and I showed them how to do that. Also, just mixing colours and blending and basic things like that.”

“They taught me stuff too. They were all so passionate about it and they had it composed perfectly and there was a reason for everything and they showed me the history and the meaning behind it all. They did very well.”

Despite all the pre-planning, Grade 9 student Bea Deloria said the size of the project was a bit daunting.

“We were kind of doubting ourselves because in the art room it looked really big, so we were like ‘How are we going to do this?’”

Deloria said she’s happy the group was able to complete the mural.

“It’s nice to leave behind something on our school to remember us by,” Deloria said.

Davidson said the notion of leaving a mark was exactly why she initiated the project.

“That was why I did it, so they can leave a piece of them here,” Davidson said. “I know its junior high and it’s not like they’re graduating from high school, but this is their community and the school represents their community. Now, they can walk down McPhillips 20 years from now and see their art. That makes me proud.”