Larger than life

Craig Thomas' massive mural reads like an open book, its carefully drawn page edges featuring swirls of color to represent marbling common in old books.

"It is a 'wow,'" said Cape Girardeau Central High School librarian Julia Jorgensen as Thomas worked atop a scaffold, adding broad strokes to another hardback book depicted on the wall mural taking shape above the main entrance to the school library.

The mural, which stretches across the front wall of the library, features larger-than-life images ranging from academic and literary books to a chemist's beaker and a violin. Other images include a brass-colored sports trophy and a globe.

Jorgensen said the mural, which shows off aspects of high school from textbooks to sports, describes Central High School.

"This is who we are," she said. "We are academics. We are sports. We are music. We are art."

Thomas has been working on the mural, which cost under $10,000 and is being funded through a federal grant, since shortly after the start of classes this fall. He took off about seven weeks for other commitments, including working on the repainting of the "Missouri Wall of Fame" mural in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Thomas, who returned to the high school mural last week, said he could be finished as early as the end of this week.

The longtime Cape Girardeau artist enjoys working in the school's well-lit, modern library. "This is a beautiful library," he said as he took a break from his painting. "Nothing like when I went to high school."

In addition to the mural, Thomas also has painted four portraits of famous authors, done in wood-tone browns. The portraits of Mark Twain, poets Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson and playwright William Shakespeare hang in the library. Thomas painted the faces over the summer.

Jorgensen said the portraits capture the character of the authors. "I didn't want dead faces on canvas," she said.

The authors' names are included in the artwork so the portraits are educational as well as artistic.

However, the education offered students went beyond just the names.

"I wanted an artist in residence," Jorgensen said. "I wanted our students to see where art could take them."

Students like senior Ryan Hammond have come away impressed with Thomas' artwork. "I thought it was pretty cool," Hammond said. "I think he is definitely one of the best artists in Cape."

Judy Barks-Westrich took her art students, including Hammond, to the library when Thomas first began the mural. She said she wanted her students to see the work that went into the painting so they would better appreciate it.

Even for students who haven't taken an art class, she said, the mural draws their attention. "It just shines," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123