Neosho High School starts Mural Club

Apr. 12—NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho High School's new Mural Club started as a way to get students involved in school and to give school walls a personal touch.

"I feel like every school has their mark," said Caitlen Igisomar, freshman and Mural Club member. "With the Mural Club, we make a mark to show people that we are proud to be in the district, to make sure they look at us with a little more respect, in a way."

Students started with a mural in the art classroom, then moved to one in the cafeteria. Other murals are in the planning stages, including an octopus in the science room, as well as art for the theater classroom. They've also worked on a doodle wall at the Briar and Thistle in downtown Neosho.

Ela Hosp, art teacher at Neosho High School and sponsor of the Mural Club, said it formed in January when the Neosho High principal mentioned he was looking for murals to add around the building. She said she knew some students who would be excited by the plan.

Mural Club has about 10 students, and it's open to all. Hosp said next year Art Club and Mural Club will merge. The goal is for students to gain skills that can help them become professional artists after high school, experimenting and finding ways to express themselves.

"I'm hoping that students are able to explore more in their creativity, let loose a little bit and be able to try new mediums they don't necessarily get to in here," Hosp said. "A lot of them have said that it feels so strange to them to paint on a wall. They've said this is the only time they'll get to do this and not get in trouble."

Students have studied the history of Neosho murals and Thomas Hart Benton, a Neosho native, taking field trips to places such as Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to study large-scale works. As they expand into the community they're trying to tie their works to Neosho history.

They also talk a lot about the context behind their art, as artists such as Benton used social themes in their work. It's important to teach them to be intentional with their art as they grow older, Hosp said.

"It's exposing these students to studio behaviors that a lot of practicing artists don't develop until later in life, with the hopes that it can spark them to follow in that path," Hosp said.

Downtown art

Adriana Henry, owner of Briar and Thistle, said she had batted around the idea of getting more public art in downtown Neosho.

Henry's staff had started a doodle wall, a collection of small sketches and drawings done in pen.

She contacted Hosp, a regular customer, to see if her students would be willing to help fill out the wall, thinking it would be a good way to tie the school to the downtown. Hosp suggested the newly formed Mural Club for the project.

Students came to the business April 1 and worked on the wall.

"They were great, super-talented kids, all really fun with great attitudes," Henry said. "I told them to just go wild on the wall. They had a great time in here as well."

Henry said she believed the arts department in Neosho has been overlooked in previous years; band, athletics and show choir get lots of attention, but the art department hasn't gotten as big a push.

"Our restaurant has been very big about being supportive of people who are othered — a little artsy, a little creative, a little outside the box," Henry said. "I felt like those are our people and we should definitely include them."

As downtown Neosho grows, the arts need to grow with it to draw people in, Henry said, adding that Mural Club's work is a great starting point for that. The restaurant has other outdoor and indoor murals in the works, and there are several other murals planned at local businesses.

When working on murals, Igisomar said patience is important. These artists base their ideas on something that's inspired them, especially artists they study in class, and incorporate them into the mural. Igisomar favors Pablo Picasso because he had a different eye for things.

The group collectively designs the sketch and works on the mural together. Igisomar said the club is also a way to escape the pressures of her first year in high school.

"I needed something to take my mind off of the work I've been doing," Igisomar said. "At Mural Club, we all collaborate and balance each other out in a way. I hope people are inspired by our work and then inspired to do their own work."