Murals & Internships
Over the years, I have gained experience painting multiple murals and grew as an educator through internships.
Arts Integration Menomonie is an organization that partners with the University of Wisconsin - Stout, the school district of Menomonie, and the arts community. This organization hires P.A.I.N.T inters that consist of students from UW-Stout. P.A.I.N.T. provides hands-on arts teaching experiences in many community and school organizations, whereby pre-service teachers in UW-Stout Early Childhood, Education, and Art Education programs have opportunities for paid teaching internships.
Within my time spent at UW-Stout, I have been involved in 7 P.A.I.N.T internships that have given me the opportunity to grow and learn as a pre-service educator.
Summer 2014
Merrill Small Business
"Merrill Trolley"
During the summer of 2014, I was one of eight high school students who were selected as honors muralists to paint a large 20' x 24' mural on the side of a historic building in Merrill, Wisconsin. This mural consisted of many different objects and people that are well known as significant pieces in Merrill's history.
Summer 2015
1. Merrill High School
"Culture Murals"
In 2015, I was selected as one of the muralists for the "Culture Murals" that are now displayed at Merrill High School in the common area. The chosen muralists each painted a 3' x 6' mural that was dedicated to a specific culture. My mural was dedicated to the culture of Brazil which showcases the colors, clothing, and environment.
Fall Semester 2016
Oaklawn Elementary
"Evolution of Reading Murals"
I was asked to paint three murals for Oaklawn Elementary school in Menomonie. The murals were 4' x 5' and were painted using acrylic paint. These murals represent the evolution of reading and how it is changing as time goes on throughout our lives. The murals were painted and completed my freshman year in college in fall of 2016 and are now in the Oaklawn library.
Spring Semester 2017
Thursday Night Thrill Seekers
During the spring, I was a P.A.I.N.T intern at the Menomonie Leisure center where I taught art projects to adults with disabilities one Thursday a month. Most of the projects were holiday themed because the days that I taught were mostly around holidays. There was one day that we did cement stepping stones because it was really nice outside and it was a different material for the studetns to use. It was a great experience and has had a great impact on me as an educator.
Art at the Arc
During the spring of 2017, I also taught art projects to adults with disabilities one Monday a month. Most of the projects that I taught were focused on teaching the students either about a style of art and an artist that created art in that style. It was a really great experience and have gained many new friends from this internship!
Fall Semester 2017
Canvas Creations
In the fall of 2017 I was again hired as a P.A.I.N.T intern and worked at a local historical building called The Mabel Tainter for the Arts. The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts is a tax-exempt non-profit organization that strives to strengthen and connect our community by engaging people in the arts. The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts offers a full performing arts season, outreach programming, and an annual Fine Arts and Crafts Fair. The nonprofit Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts owns and operates the historic facility formerly known as the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater. In addition to providing their own programming, the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts partners with many community organizations, including University of Wisconsin Stout, Menomonie Public Library, area schools, and the Menomonie Theater Guild. (http://www.mabeltainter.org/)
The internship that I was hired for was called Canvas Creation Fridays. This internship was a painting class for families to come every Friday and create a painting. I was in charge of creating lesson plans, project examples, and teaching the families a painting every week along with my co-worker. Throughout this internship, I have gained more skills for how to manage a classroom.
Mosaic Sundays (Fall 2017-Spring 2018)
Mosaic Sundays is a class that was held on the 2nd floor of the UW-Stout library for children K-12 to come and create a mural that would be on one of the walls in the library. The children learned about what a mural was, how murals were created, and the process of creating a mosaic mural.
The mural created was garden themed and consisted of tall flowers, insects, and a sun. Once the children learned about the process of creating a mosaic mural, they were ready to start drawing out their flowers that would be their guide for creating the mural. Once the students learned to cut tile and place it on mesh, they were able to make a coaster to take home so their parents could see what their children have been learning.
The students then were able to start making the mosaic mural based on their drawings of flowers and insects. The drawings were cut out and drawn onto a big piece of paper that was as big as the wall that the mural would soon go on. After it was drawn on the big paper, sections were cut out and a piece of mesh was placed on top of that so the students could follow the outline as they placed the tiles. Once the mural is finished, it will be put onto the wall and grouted and will be up in the library for many years to come. Throughout this internship I got to teach this class along with 2 other interns and work on the mural.
From this internship, I not only have learned about a totally new medium, but I also learned more about time management.
Fall Semester 2018
Pizza N' Paint Nights (Fall 2018-Spring 2019)
During the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019, I was asked to teach a painting class for art education students once a month. UW-Stout art education students would get together, eat pizza, and paint! For this internship, I created a project sample, organized each event, advertised, and instructed the painting during the duration of the class. These events were a great opportunity for art education students to connect with others in their major and remember that they are not only art educators, but also artists.
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Fall Semester 2019
Creativity with Color
In the fall of 2019, I was chosen to instruct an art class to inmates at the Dunn County Jail. This art class consisted of me teaching many different mediums and projects to the participants. As the instructor, I was able to create project examples, coordinate, and manage the classroom of inmates. This was an incredible experience and I am glad I was able to receive this opportunity.
Collaborative Mural 2023
"The Tree of Life" Mural
I was selected as one of the 20 local artists in Menomonie to participate in a collaborative watercolor mosaic mural banner. Each artist was given a section of the mural to watercolor paint. The paintings were then placed together to create a mural on a banner that now travels between different small businesses in Menomonie. The section of the mural I painted was the sloth.
