Drawing on walls finds a place in Balboa Elementary’s playground
Artist Zoey Boyadjian had the helping hands of students and parents who made their way to Balboa Elementary to put their own spin this past weekend on a mural she designed at the school.
Boyadjian prepped the mural with drawings of a peacock at the center of flowers, leaving open spots for students to draw on their own to complete the art piece. For about an hour on Saturday, students mixed colors and picked up brushes to paint flowers on a storage bin in the school’s playground. The next day, they came back to sign their names next to their work.
Sona Arakelyan, the school’s principal, commissioned Boyadjian, who works at Titmouse Animation Studios, to paint two large storage bins filled with emergency and school supplies. The artist has designed T-shirts for the Glendale Unified Elementary Instrumental Festival and murals at Balboa Elementary in the past, but this was the first time students participated in the process.
“They were excited, and everyone was ready to go,” Boyadjian said. “They even asked, ‘Can we stay a little longer?’”
The impetus to get students involved in campus artwork came after school staff saw a mural at Balboa, featuring Dr. Seuss characters, had been vandalized two months ago. One of the character’s eyes was colored red with crayon.
Over the public announcement system, Arakelyan told students the school spends a lot of money on the murals, and it’s not OK to draw on them.
She recalled adding, “It seems like I have a lot of creative students on campus. Instead of drawing on walls — if you have an idea for art you would like to have on one of the walls, why don’t you come and see me?”
Although Arakelyan didn’t expect students to show up in her office, about 50 students from first through sixth grades brought drawings they wanted to be considered for a campus mural.
“I figured that the students should be incorporated into [the next school mural] so that they would have some kind of an outlet to get their creativity out on walls,” Arakelyan said. “I didn’t have the heart to pick one design.”
She opted for a nature theme because the playground doesn’t have much greenery. The first bin features a peacock surrounded by flowers. The second bin would feature wings at different heights, giving students a photo opportunity.
Boyadjian said she plans to put the finishing touches on the murals over the next two months.
“I’m excited about it because it’s students’ voices and it gives them an opportunity to be creative,” Arakelyan said.
