STUDENT MURAL AT CIVIC CENTER LOOKS TO FUTURE

A new mural at the Cape Civic Center reflects the hopes of students enrolled in the Alternative Education Center's Learn to Earn program.

Shades of blue span from the silhouette of a student at a computer to the golden rays of a morning sunrise. The sun's rays fall on yet another silhouette, this one of a graduate.

"The mural represents looking to the future," art teacher Lee Radford said. "The sun represents a new and brighter day, which encourages the students to put the past behind them and realize that today is another day."

The outdoor mural, which measures 5 by 65 feet, adorns the back wall of the Cape Civic Center.

The Learn to Earn program, funded by a grant to the Cape Girardeau public school system, is designed to provide students 13 to 18 years old with work experience and an awareness of what they need to present themselves to future employers.

The mural is one of the activities Radford included in the class plans when it began in January. He wanted the students to use the mural to express their artistic talents.

Radford and the students designed the mural.

"This shows what the students have learned up in color," Radford said. "And it was one way for the kids to become actively involved in a joint art project to promote camaraderie and teamwork."

The idea for the mural's design began three weeks ago. At first, plans were to arm the students with spray-paint cans and paint a few stripes. But as the idea developed, the students and Radford decided to create something that made a statement.

The end product reflects the theme that education is a must.

Instead of using traditional images such as books, rulers and pencils to represent education, a computer was chosen as the more contemporary icon. After all, Radford joked, nowadays the computer is the book since you can find them all in compact disk format.

Computer skills are a component of the skills Radford hopes to teach students as they make the transition from school to work.

Radford uses computer technology to teach basic art design, layout and art history. He hopes this will inspire students to get in touch with their talents and apply them to their everyday life.

A central rainbow was used for a dare-to-dream message.

"We have always heard that there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow," Radford said. "Here it represents a hope of reaching impossibilities."

Painting began May 12. The background was airbrushed in and Radford sketched the outline with charcoal. Then, five students stepped in and took over the artwork.

The graduates featured in the mural are student Chiquita Bell's favorites. Bell, 15, one of the five students who helped paint the mural, thinks the graduates are the central part of the mural because they represent the students who have made something out of themselves.

In particular, Bell said the silhouette of the graduate holding hands with two small children signifies the importance of role models.

Little children, and especially smaller brothers and sisters, can look up to graduates, who can encourage them to do what they did, Bell said.

Bell credits the Learn to Earn program with helping her uncover her talent and love for art.

The Learn to Earn program teaches you how to be talented, she said.

Bell enjoys using the education center's computers and software to create new designs by putting graphic images together. Activities like these have helped her decide she wants to go to college and become a computer graphics artist.

Radford said the mural should be completed in the next few days. Plans are under way for two additional murals.