Three recent Wellesley High School 2020 graduates finally got the chance over the weekend to take up their paintbrushes and start work on a long-planned project for their WHS Art Intensive course. It’s been a long time coming. First the public artwork, a 6′ x 27′ mural-style painting on the curved brick wall at the corner of Linden and Everett Streets, faced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Next, the artists were challenged by two days in a row of 90+ degree temperatures. No matter, they got out there and made a solid start on the artwork, which will reach completion by perhaps as early as Wednesday.
The mural’s concept and visual aesthetic were produced through a guided dialogue between the students — Carson Dobos, Khansa Khan, and Allie Wornell — and the students’ senior project mentor Alexander Golob, the principal of Golob Art, and himself a WHS grad. Although all senior projects were cancelled due to the pandemic, none of the artists was willing to abandon the idea, which came about through a combination of their ideas along with feedback from over 60 community members, making the project a community endeavor.
The mural features a storybook-style animal illustration of life in Wellesley, an anthropomorphic imagining of frogs, birds, dogs, and birds. The creatures are depicted enjoying what many in the Wellesley human community have taken up during the pandemic such as listening to music, going for walks, and baking cookies. The scene is set at nearby Morses Pond at sunset.
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