Who knew that ever-changing would be everlasting.
What did I get myself into when I agreed to be part of an ARTree team to produce a one hundred-foot by sixteen-foot mural on a wall? The team was newly formed and had never worked together. My task was simply to design the first of future murals. Thus given is the mural’s name, “Ever-changing.”
With a theme based on local kids, gathering children from the Newhall Community Center and the Boys and Girls Club for a photo shoot became memorable for all. The teens behind the camera, the children modeling, the parents, and the mural production team worked together like clockwork. With many smiles and so much laughter, it would be unfair to call the experience as work. It would be more appropriately described as playful. Everyone was having fun.
The ARTree team shared expert knowledge in selecting the best photos for the mural. We learned about each other’s background in the creative industry. In sharing personal insights, we became aware of one another’s thought process, as well as each other’s quirkiness. Yet, it came together to print twenty-three, 44 inch by 16 foot paper panels, which together completed the mural. Friendships incurred.
Armed with the printed panels, what was our attack plan of the monstrous wall, our blank canvas? The Newhall Community Center‘s teens came to the rescue with ARTree volunteers. Building a thirteen-foot tall scaffold, wall prepping, and pasting each paper panel onto the wall became tolerable. The latter task brought everyone together as a unified team. It required multiple teams at multiple production stages. There was an understanding without explanation of what everyone needed to do to complete such a large task. The immense work never seemed as such because everyone was having fun. Again.
Applying the last panel onto the wall was a welcoming end. Yet, it was almost unwelcomed. The days and weeks prior brought strangers together to accomplish a feat that none beforehand had participated in nor had any experience in. Friendships incurred. Again.
A wall became a blank canvas, work became fun, acquaintances and strangers became friends. If such positive aspects were constant in our everyday lives, life would be fun everyday. So the memories and the friendships between all are everlasting because of the Ever-changing wall.
I’m glad I got myself into it. And, I would do it all over. Again, and again.