MURAL OFFERS POSTCARD VIEW OF GEOGRAPHY

Geography never looked so good before Craig Thomas came along.

The Cape Girardeau artist recently completed a mural on the walls of Franklin School's south stairwell. The work consists of more than 20 separate scenes: Giant postcard-like paintings that visually tumble down the stairs.

Beneath the painted words, "This is My Country," is a huge, colorful map of the United States. The state capitals are marked on the map, but left unnamed.

Franklin School educators say the work is more than just wall art. There are plenty of geography lessons here too, from Seattle's Space Needle structure to the St. Louis Arch.

In one "postcard," stylized waves are lined up in front of a palm-tree-laden beach. Niagara Falls, cactus of the desert Southwest and Mount Rushmore all can be found on Thomas' "postcards."

"There is a method to it. It is not just pretty," said Jim Watkins, school principal.

Visual lessons are nothing new for the 32-year-old Thomas. Last summer, he painted a mural on the north stairwell walls that focused on Missouri history.

Both projects were funded by the school's beautification committee.

When it came to ideas for this latest mural, Thomas had plenty of help. "They had a lot of suggestions," recalled Thomas, who also did his homework.

"I had gotten hold of a lot of postcards." He even read through a geography textbook for fifth and sixth graders. "I also wrote every state's tourist bureau."

From his research, Thomas created his postcard views of America.

Thomas began working on it in July, sketching and painting mostly on weekends and Mondays. He finished the project on Aug. 15.

Thomas' artwork is currently a hobby. In his regular job, he retouches and restores photographs for a Jackson photography studio.

But his real love is creating murals, something he would like to do full time some day.

Thomas has done seven murals, four of them in Cape Girardeau. Another mural is in a Perryville funeral home. He recalled painting it while there was a body in the room.

Thomas enjoys art. His "Art is fun" T-shirt shouts out that fact.

An avid chalk artist, Thomas loves participatory art. "The people who go out and look at it, they participate in it."

Thomas also views his school-wall art as participatory. The students who will walk up and down the stairs at Franklin School will be learning geography at a glance.

Watkins said the postcard geography adds a lot to the school. "It is educational and pretty. You can have both."