Maconaquah students paint mural for Circus Hall of Fame

Aug. 22—The newest piece of art work at the International Circus Hall of Fame pays homage to the circus' history and two of its most famous figures.

And it was made by Maconaquah Middle School students.

The Circus Hall of Fame board enlisted students in Patrick Redmon's art classes to paint a mural to liven up the outside of the circus' winter quarters.

Sixth grade students spent last school year researching the history of the circus and painting the mural. Work wrapped up over the summer.

One group of students determined what would be included in the mural. Another group drew and put paint to canvas, or in this case, aluminum.

The rich history of the circus proved to be a challenge for the students.

"We had to knock (some stuff) off," said Emily Townsend. "We tried to put on as much as we could."

The end result was a 4-foot by 8-foot aluminum mural with acrylic paint, depicting lion tamer Clyde Beatty and sad clown Pat Kelly.

The border of the mural includes Gabriel Godfroy, Benjamin Wallace and Carl Hagenbeck.

Godfroy sold his land to Wallace, who bought Hagenbeck's show to form the Hagenbeck-Wallace show.

In each corner of the mural, there is a small image of a disaster, including the 1913 flood, the 1918 train wreck, the death of Charley the elephant and a tiger leaping through a ring of fire, which represents the fires that occurred on circus grounds.

The mural was unveiled Aug. 12. Redmon and some of the students were among those in attendance.

So was Sandy Ploss, granddaughter of Beatty the lion tamer.

"I could not believe how beautiful it was," she said. "The colors are so vibrant. It made me a little weepy."

She's sure her grandfather would have approved, too.

"He would have been very humbled by being chosen," Ploss said.

The reaction from those in audience was not lost on the students.

"It was really interesting because you got to see everyone's faces," said Martina Ramsey. "I saw a lot of tears that day."

"I think it was great they got to see the mural out in the community being appreciated by people," added Redmon.

Godfroy is an ancestor of Redmon.

John Wright, board president of the International Circus Hall of Fame, reached out to Maconaquah about having students make the mural.

"We went with it because it showed a lot of good talent," he said. "Everyone on the board is happy with how it turned out. We couldn't ask for a better response than we've received from it."

Wright said he was particularly impressed with the inclusion of Beatty and Kelly.

The mural required students to work together, to a larger degree than most school projects.

"It took a lot of communication, which was good to see," Redmon said.

There are three layers of paint on the mural. Students said the mural wasn't easy.

"Shading was hard," said Gwyn Wilson. "It was the worst."

The community got behind the project, too.

Professional calligrapher and local resident Tana Bondar lent her skills. Olson Pain & Body in Peru weather-proofed the mural for free.

"The student ideas and work inspired more people to get involved," Redmon said.

Wright said the circus board intends to partner with the other Miami schools for future projects.

"We're going to reach out to other schools ... so we can get more kids interested in circus history," he said.

But Maconaquah will always be the first, and the students are well aware of that fact.

"We're built different," Gwyn said. "They can't beat us."

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.