Under the sea

Seascape adorns walls near splash pad

PEA RIDGE — A crab, an octopus, shark, jellyfish, sea turtle and seahorses are brightening the City Park beside the splash pad.

The splash pad, opened at the end of May 2019, is closed this summer because of covid-19 restrictions. While it’s closed, Parks Commission members are having a mural painted on all four walls of the building housing the equipment for the splash pad, which was built with a 50/50 grant from Arkansas Parks and Tourism.

Art students from the Arkansas Arts Academy are practicing and enhancing their painting skills on the murals. Students working on the mural include seniors Elizabeth Fanning, Reese Abbott, Tyler Miller, Basil Battin and Sophia Stumbaugh, all of Rogers; and Abby Alexander, of Fayetteville. Teachers working on the project are Crystal McWilliams, 2D visual art teacher, and Aaron Jones, Arkansas Arts Academy 7-12, Rogers.

“It’s almost better without little hands in it; it gives them a little bit more free range,” Parks Commission member Theresa Jackson said.

“When were in school … all of the students” collaborated on the design, McWilliams said. She took the students’ ideas and made one large design. “It’s a really good experience for them. They now have an idea of what it entails.”

“It’s totally a group effort.” The weather hasn’t hampered the work.

“Every day, it’s like a storm bubbles up … do we leave? Do we stay? Is it going to rain? Is it just cloudy?” McWilliams said. “Fortunately, because it’s warm and it’s summer, it dries really fast.”

Abbott said, “Making sure it doesn’t drip onto the other colors” was the most challenging part of the work.

Interestingly, the group was working Saturday when police visited in response to a report someone was “tagging” or painting graffiti at the park.

“Funny story already,” she said. “They were out here Saturday, and some concerned citizens called the police ... they thought they were taggers ... it was so funny. The police officer got a big hoot out of it.”

The Parks Commission has allocated a budget for the paint, according to Theresa Jackson, member of the Parks Commission.

“It’s so cute, so fun and the colors are so vibrant.” Jackson said.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Art teacher Crystal McWilliams worked on the south side of the building while senior students Elizabeth Fanning and Reese Abbott worked on the west side.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Fanning (left) and Abbott (center) join teachers McWilliams and Aaron Jones as they work on the mural.

(Courtesy Photo) Arkansas Arts Academy students working on the mural include Fanning, Abbott, Tyler Miller, Basil Battin and Sophia Stumbaugh, all of Rogers; and Abby Alexander, of Fayetteville.

(Courtesy Photo) McWilliams works on the mural on the building while Parks Commission member Theresa Jackson looks on.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Fanning and Abbott said they’d never worked on such a large project before putting their hand to the mural in Pea Ridge.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Senior art student Reese Abbott said she enjoyed working on the mural at Pea Ridge City Park.

(Courtesy Photo) Arkansas Arts Academy teachers Crystal McWilliams and Aaron Jones work on the sea creatures and various shades of blue in the mural at the Pea Ridge City Park splash pad.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Abbott carefully paints blue in the lines around the sea horses on the mural.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) McWilliams and Jones visit with Parks Commission member Theresa Jackson.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) A sea turtle awaiting color adorns the north wall of the building.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Senior art students Elizabeth Fanning and Reese Abbott paint the sea July 2 along with McWilliams (center right), and Jones paints a bright red crab on the mural at the Pea Ridge City Park splash pad building.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) Jones adds his touch to the mural as Fanning and Abbot work on the blues of the sea.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Annette Beard) McWilliams works alongside her students.