Todd Layton, graphic design and photography teacher at McNary High School, values real-world opportunities for students to apply their skills and see their products in the community.
So when Tammy Saldivar, vice president of the Northwest Keizer Neighborhood Association, approached him in the fall with the chance for students to design a street mural in Keizer, he agreed.
This semester, Layton gave students an option to design a mural that could be painted on a neighborhood street near McNary. He presented the assignment to about 20 students, including those in his advanced graphic design class.
He received 12 proposed designs.
Layton said the project was intended to be fun, and “intrigue” students.
“This is an amazing opportunity for them,” Layton said. “They can have their family drive down the street and see the work they’ve created.”
Saldivar is currently developing a city street art program with the Keizer Public Arts Commission, modeled after a similar program in Salem. The program will allow murals to be painted on streets in town “for community identification, collaboration and beautification,” Saldivar wrote in an email.
She and the arts commission members agreed that “working with the students would be a great choice” for the program.
The 12 submissions will be reviewed by Saldivar’s neighborhood association, and one will be selected to present to the arts commission. After art is selected, Saldivar said the design will be presented to homes near the mural’s planned location for approval.
While Saldivar said the mural location has not been confirmed, she said it will be located within the boundaries of the Northwest Keizer Neighborhood Association and near McNary High School.
The neighborhood association’s boundary follows Chemawa Road between Keizer Rapids Park and River Road. The northern boundary begins at the intersection of River Road and Lockhaven Drive, stretching to the city limits along Windsor Island Road
Saldivar said the chosen mural will be painted in late summer, before the start of school. Design submissions that are not chosen will be presented to other neighborhood associations for use in their neighborhoods.
“I want the community to know that the students are capable of great work, right?” Layton said. “There’s lots of talent that we have, and they’re open to it. We can put them to work. We can put it to use.”
Students had freedom in their design choices, so long as the art was appropriate. Layton suggested a McNary theme for designs.
Designs ranged from nature scenes with flowers and fish to a McNary “M.”
Senior Emma Gonzalez used Adobe Illustrator to create the blue “M” inside a lighter blue rectangle decorated with flowers and butterflies. She chose to use a McNary theme because the mural will be near the school.
Also using Illustrator, senior Nathaly Calderon created a sun underneath a ring of pink hibiscus flowers. She wanted her design to reflect the summer season when the mural will be painted, and chose a tropical flower.
Gonzalez said she chose to participate because “it would be a really cool opportunity” for her work to be displayed on a street. Calderon said she was interested in the project for its benefit to the community.
Both Gonzalez and Calderon said they want the community to understand the work students put into the designs.
“We all worked really hard on making something that people would enjoy,” Gonzalez said. “I hope that whoever’s design gets chosen, it can bring the community together.”
NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].
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