Young artists transform Cheshire fire hall wall into mural with 'serious wow factor'
CANANDAIGUA — At first, the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department wall was white space, a blank canvas if you will.
Then, when 9-year-old Hunter Owens and 90 members of the Canandaigua Mural Club got to work over the course of three weeks, it changed — in a big way.
“Week by week, it became this,” said Hunter, who is going into the fourth grade in September.
Their colorful mural depicts Cheshire fire trucks and firefighters, the fire department’s seal, scenes of water, land and trees, and a map of the Canandaigua hamlet.
Young artists and their parents gathered in the department’s Station No. 2 fire hall on Routes 5 and 20 in Canandaigua to see the finished work.
It was hidden behind a fire truck, but not for long.
Exhorting the students to be as loud as they could so fire departments in East Bloomfield, Naples, Geneva and others would hear them, Rick Roxin, president of the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department, had the artists give a fire truck driver the signal.
One, two, three...
They shouted, "Move that truck!”
Fire hall mural's creation 'very inspiring to all of us'
The unveiling was the culmination of summer camp for the Canandaigua Mural Club.
Art teacher Heather Gustafson, who is the club’s adviser along with fellow art teacher Courtney Austin, said the students spent lots of time piecing everything together and coming up with a finalized mural. The campers were in grades 3-5, some middle school students helped mentor them as they worked.
“It’s beautiful,” Gustafson said. “My favorite part about the whole thing is seeing all the kids so excited to show all their friends and family what pieces and parts they took part of.”
Students, with the help of teachers, spent about three weeks creating the mural, which is on a wall in the fire truck bay area. The artists greeted firefighters with smiles and laughter while they created, which was "very inspiring to all of us,” Roxin said.
And on at least six or seven occasions, the artists had to make way for first responders as they responded to calls from this active fire hall.
“Those kids got out of the way like pros,” Roxin said.
Roxin said he was blown away to see the finished mural, even though he kind of knew what it would be like after seeing the initial sketches.
“When they tightened up the lines and the colors got more vibrant, there was a serious wow factor,” Roxin said.
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Canandaigua students' mural unveiled at Cheshire fire hall
