Big Brothers Big Sisters mural captures beauty of Giving Garden
Though it may be almost winter, you can take a stroll in a lush spring garden of green grass, vibrant yellow flowers and blue skies. But to get there, you will have to go to the basement.
That garden can be found at the offices of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley, thanks to a mural painted by students at the Baum School of Art in Allentown.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is in what was once a former East Side Allentown church donated to the organization in 2015. Big Brothers Big Sisters still rents the sanctuary space to a local congregation for Sunday church services and special events but maintains its offices on the upper floors as well as the community room below.
It’s in that community room that walls come alive with color and scenes of a fresh spring day with beautifully rendered trees, birdhouses and fences that lead from a stairwell into the community room.
The garden motif is inspired by program called the Giving Garden, which was launched in October. The Giving Garden provides a continuous stream of financial support for the matches established by the agency. The names of Giving Garden donors are on the wall. .
Baum School students worked on the mural for six weeks under the direction of instructor Rosemary Geseck. Geseck’s influence can be seen in the bold forms and bright colors, her signature pop style.
This is the second mural that Baum students painted for the community room. The other is a larger mural with a Lehigh Valley theme that takes up three large walls.
jodi.duckett@mcall.com Twitter @goguidelv 610-820-6704