SSFD taps into local artistic talent
Ten students from Siloam Springs High School’s National Art Honor Society collaborated with Siloam Springs Fire Department to paint a mural inside Fire Station No. 1.
The 25-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall mural depicts the words “Siloam Springs Fire Department” with a numeral one underneath, filled with American flag colors, flanked by fire and emergency medicine symbols. Students began work on the project in September and completed it in February, according to art teachers Angie Howie and Andria Zimmerman.
The south facing, interior truck bay wall at Station No. 1, located on Cherie Whitlock Drive, needed a makeover, so the department decided to clean it and apply a mural, according to Lt. Paramedic Brendon Moyers. Most departments in the area were hiring professional companies to paint murals, however SSFD wanted to tap local talent if possible, he said.
Moyers got in touch with Howie and Zimmerman, who saw it as an opportunity for National Art Honor
Society students, who are required to do one artrelated community service project each year.
Ten students in grades nine through 12 worked on the project, Howie and Zimmerman said. The fire department had a simple but powerful design in mind, Moyers said.
Students used a combination of projecting images onto the wall and tracing them using carbon painters, then filled them in with paint, Howie said.
“I was so specific on the details that needed to be done a certain way and the art division did not skip a beat,” Moyers said. “They were mixing and matching colors to correspond with our logo, then the application was done with a small round paint brush at times — the detail was profound.”
The project gave students a chance to learn about making a time commitment for a large project, Zimmerman said. Students also had to get comfortable with heights working on scaffolding for the project, she said.
Students were excited to get to work in the fire
station and to be part of a project that will be in their community for a long time, Zimmerman said.
“Hopefully they have also learned that art doesn’t necessarily have to be in a museum to be noticed and they can use it anywhere,” Howie said.
Moyers said the fire department is beyond pleased with how the mural turned out and thankful for the students’ work.
“The Siloam Springs Art Division, both students and teachers, had no obligation to tackle this project,” Moyers said. “They spent countless hours, their free time, to come in to our fire house and accomplish this piece. … We want to continue to pursue relationships within our community and showcase the raw talent that we have locally. This mural is a great representation of the skill and proficiency these young artists from Siloam Springs High School have to offer.”