Writing is the art of carefully piecing together words to create something greater. It touches something emotional within people, and allows them a space to express themselves. But unlike the foreign language or art hallways, the writing department lacks a physical presence at LM. When you walk by the Spanish classrooms, they practically scream their identity with works of art, flags, and snippets of foreign languages. The absence of art representing the remaining hallways may change soon.
Sometime before COVID-19, an idea to bring color, life, and focus to the English hallway arose. Fragments of this can already be spotted at school in the form of a beautifully sketched-out mural in front of English teacher Ms. Meghan McDermott’s room (307). But how did this project come to exist? In an interview with English department head Brian Mays, the man behind the concept, he shared how he originally came up with the idea. Mr. Mays recalled that “Mrs. Hampton, our technology specialist, sent me a blog that she found.” The blog, from a high school in England, had examples of doorways painted as book covers. “She thought that I might enjoy it,” he said. Mr. Mays then went on to explain that he liked the concept so much that he decided to try to implement it at LM.
So why is this project still in what seems to be the planning stages? The project has gotten through all administrative requirements, even having been approved by Dr. Johnson himself. So the issue doesn’t lie there. Firstly, the concept was thought of right before COVID-19 hit. The world came to a halt, LM was shut down, and students were taught virtually. The pandemic took precedence and the hallway initiative was placed on a back burner until things returned somewhat to normalcy.
Once things did return to normalcy, Mr. Mays conferred with the art department chair, Mr. Russ Loue, about the difficulty of obtaining art supplies and which types of paint should be utilized for the project. After that discussion came the actual decision of what the murals would be. The choice was ultimately up to each teacher who decided to participate. Ms. McDermott, one of the English teachers who opted in, talked a bit more about what her mural, one dedicated to the novel Parable of the Sower, meant to her. “Parable of the Sower is one of my favorite books,” she explained. “Octavia Butler is an author I wish I had been introduced to earlier.” Parable of the Sower was written in 1993 as the journal of Lauren Oya Olamina, a black teenager living in the United States during 2024. It’s a speculative story proposing a possible outcome for our society if we continue down our current path. Throughout the story, it addresses issues such as climate change and discrimination within society.
“[Butler] is one of the first black female sci-fi writers in American Lit, and the book sort of parallels the extremes we’re experiencing now,” remarked Ms. McDermott. “However, she manages to do it in a way that centers teenagers and empathy in a way I’ve never really thought about before.” Ms. McDermott thinks that the mural acted as an introduction to her classroom by showcasing an aspect of both her class and literature as a whole, demonstrating how books can relate to our daily lives, address important issues, and spark change.
The height of the pandemic was years ago; that has left plenty of time to transition back to in-person learning and the gradual normalization of what was once considered normal school life. So why has the project only partially commenced? The second obstacle was simple and yet surprising: finding student artists willing to participate and able to complete the project. “Art isn’t part of the English curriculum,” Mr. Mays said, “so we couldn’t offer students any sort of extra credit as a recompense for their work.” This issue once again delayed the start of the project for months, until students volunteered for the project. The English Artwork Project has been stuck in the developmental stages for years, despite it having been approved by the LM administration. Hopefully, the future will bring about the furthering and conclusion of this stunning project idea.
