Work progresses on the crosswalk mural on East Street in front of Pendleton Elementary Intermediate School on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Kristi Swango and Camille Allen work on painting a crosswalk mural on East Street in front of Pendleton Elementary Intermediate School on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Work progresses on the crosswalk mural on East Street in front of Pendleton Elementary Intermediate School on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
The crosswalk in front of Pendleton Elementary School, before stars were added after it dried.
The crosswalk in front of Pendleton Elementary School, before stars were added after it dried.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Indiana Arts Commission grant fuels further crosswalk art
PENDLETON — Julien Medina, a fourth-grader at Pendleton Elementary School-Intermediate, said he had fun helping to paint a mural on the crosswalk in front of his school on Saturday morning.
It included a unicorn in a spacesuit, an alligator in a rocket ship, and planets and stars.
“I’ve always been interested in space,” Medina said.
He was one of dozens of students, parents and others who spent several hours painting two murals on East Street crosswalks in front of PES-I and Pendleton Elementary School.
The project was funded through a $4,000 Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) grant.
South Madison Community Foundation applied for the grant, which was used to buy supplies and commission muralist Holly Sims, who teaches art at Anderson University.
Sims, who directed the project, said she met with students a couple of times. They discussed public art, and the students were able draw things that interested them. Then Sims took those drawings home and sorted through them, identifying common themes and coming up with a mural.
“I took their ideas and made a design,” she said. “The most we had were outer space.”
Pendleton Elementary School’s mural has a patriotic theme, reflected through the red, white and blue color scheme, with the addition of stars that include a hop-scotch pattern.
“Oh, I love it,” Parent-Teacher Organization President Jillian Gray said on Saturday. “It’s just getting everyone involved. We get to see new faces, get new people involved. I’m excited to see the kiddos’ faces on Monday.”
Lauren Huber, mother of students Jackson, 9, and Willson, 7, said she enjoyed being a part of things.
“I love just meeting new people and being able to give back to the community, so that’s why I brought my two boys out here today,” she said. “They thought it was pretty cool that they got to paint the road.”
Third-grader Drew Swango used the same word when asked about the project.
“I think it’s cool that our town does this,” she said. “I painted some of the unicorn and the moon and the blue background. I think it’s strange, and that’s what makes it cool.”
Lisa Floyd, community projects steward for the community foundation, said the project is a joint effort that serves many positive ends.
“For the second year, the foundation was fortunate to receive funding from IAC to provide a tangible showcase for local talent and collaboration with adults and students in our community while enhancing the safety and design of some of our busiest streets in the downtown area,” she said in a press release after Saturday’s work. “The support from the Town of Pendleton and South Madison Community Schools was an integral part of the success of this latest project.”
Tammy Bowman, executive director of the community foundation, said this was the third such crosswalk project in town in recent times, with the other locations being the four crossings at the Water Street and Pendleton Avenue intersection and the one crossing on Water Street at Broadway Street.
She said the crosswalk projects are a way for the community to “create their own solutions to help calm traffic in those areas.”
Also, it uses art “as the glue that brings people together and builds community. It’s just a great opportunity to spend some time together with a purpose.”
Meanwhile, Julien Medina, who is in his first of three years at the intermediate school and walks to school, said he will be thinking about the project on his way to school each day.
“I definitely think I’ll be looking down at it.”