Painting With Purpose

Role

As a social justice fellow at the Hillel Center for Jewish Life, Amalya directed a semester long, weekly collaboration between students at the University of Maryland and William Wirt Middle School.

The Project

When you contribute to beautifying your space, you love it more. The goal of this project was to improve the quality of the school day for William Wirt students by helping them hand paint a mural in the hallway where they spend 8 daily hours, 40 weeks a year. 

Amalya had the opportunity to work with an 8th grade group and a 6th grade group.

For the 8th graders, Amalya and her faithful team developed a geometric concept based on patterns and layering (as ever, thank you Pinterest). The team of college students applied painters tape to the wall creating a variety of engaging shapes. The William Wirt middle school students applied a base color to each shape.

The next week, they layered a pattern using a second (or third) color. Amalya brought several household materials to use as pattern stamps such as: tin foil, sweater, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, sponges and tights. She designed this project to enable artists of every skill level to fully participate. The tape shapes allowed for painters with in-the-line attention to detail work alongside the messy, broad stroke folks. Students also had the option to choose basic one-color stamps or go as far as designing their own abstract patterns.

Outcome

When they removed the tape, the paint job was vibrantly colorful with professionally clean lines.  The students reported that they were proud to walk past their work everyday.

Many thanks

Talia Orencal - Fellowship Adviser
Amalya Sherman- Director
Avi Denicoff  - Co-director
Amitai Samuels - Co-director