‘We Are The Difference’

FAYETTEVILLE — “We are the Difference” is the theme of a colorful, 24-foot by 8-foot mural painted on six pieces of plywood by Farmington Junior High’s art club.

Members of the art club started working on a concept of the mural in the spring with internationally known artist Octavio Logo of Fayetteville. Gov. Asa Hutchinson closed schools in mid-March to in-person instruction to help slow down the spread of the new coronavirus, and that put the project on hold.

The students started back on the project this summer, working on the floor of Logo’s studio in Fayetteville.

The background of the mural is a child coming out of a jar, similar to the story about Pandora’s Box, said Gretchen Wilkes, junior high art teacher.

Wilkes pointed out that in the story of Pandora’s Box, evil, greed, destruction escape when the box is opened but the lid is closed just in time to prevent “hope” from getting out.

The child, stars, flowers and other beautiful colors coming out of the jar and flowing across the sky of the mural represent “hope” for the world, Wilkes said, adding, “This is supposed to show that children are the hope of the world.”

The mural also shows a diversity, Wilkes said, to represent the diversity of students in Farmington schools and the Farmington community.

Seven j unior high students have worked on the mural and each also has painted a self-portrait that represents something they are interested in or passionate about.

Haley Clanton, a rising 10th grader, painted herself reading to someone who is sad and depressed.

“We need to reach out to others because we’re all going through something,” Clanton said.

Clanton said teenagers do not have a lot of ways to show their voices.

“This is one way we can use our voices,” Clanton said, referring to the messages on the mural.

Cooper Tidwell, also a rising 10th grader, shows someone holding a sign that reminds people to vote in the election.

“I think a lot of people take it for granted they have a choice to make a difference in the outcome of our country,” Tidwell said. “I’m asking adults to take advantage of it.”

Leigh Davis is adopted and her portrait shows two people adopting a baby.

“There’s a lot of babies in the world who do not have homes,” Davis said.

Josslyn McCall’s painting on the mural shows someone planting flowers and taking care of the earth.

Others involved in the mural are Bianca Burciaga, Aubree McWhorter and Landon Gadberry.

Burciaga said the mural will show “there’s a lot of people with different backgrounds and we don’t know how others feel about certain things.”

Clanton added, “I hope the mural gives people hope. Right now we’re all super sad but we can do it.”

The students said they have appreciated the opportunity to learn from Logo’s expertise. Logo’s murals can be seen over all Northwest Arkansas. Since March, he has painted on at least seven murals, many with other artists in the area.

Wilkes said the project was funded through

DonorsChoose, a classroom funding website. She received donations from individuals, with the largest donation from the Thea Foundation.

She named her DonorsChoose project, “The Power of Public Art,” and said it would give her students the assistance and expertise of an internationally recognized mural artist in a five-month residency experience that would culminate in a large-scale public mural.

Wilkes said she is looking for a place to install the mural and hopes to find a place in Farmington.

Originally, the plan was to paint the mural on an exterior wall at Chicken Holler Lawn and Garden Center in Farmington but the wall was too uneven. The decision was made to paint the mural on plywood and then install it on the wall.

Wilkes said Mindy Mahan with Chicken Holler has since changed her mind about allowing the mural to be placed on the business’ wall facing traffic traveling west on U.S. Highway 62.

Mahan, a former Farmington art teacher, said last week she supported the project but also told the students she did not want anything controversial on the wall because she owns a retail business and wants her customers to be comfortable shopping at Chicken Holler.

When she saw the finished project, parts of it seemed controversial, Mahan said. In particular, she said she was opposed to a mask that is political and controversial in today’s times.

“We’re not about that. It’s not the place for it on our building,” Mahan said, noting, “When I agreed to it, I told them I wanted it to be happy, uplifting and hopeful.”

Wilkes said she was willing to make changes to the mural to address Mahan’s concerns but Mahan decided to not move forward with the project.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Haley Clanton, left, and Cooper Tidwell, members of Farmington Junior High’s art club, work on their self-portraits on a mural that will be placed, hopefully, somewhere in the Farmington community. Clanton’s painting shows someone reaching out and reading to a child. Cooper’s painting encourages people to vote in the upcoming election. A baby is adopted in a scene of the mural being painted by members of Farmington Junior High Art Club.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER A mural being painted by members of Farmington Junior High Art Club has the theme, “We Are The Difference.” Here, students are painting on the floor of Octavio Logo’s studio in Fayetteville. Logo is an internationally known mural artist.

Josslyn McCall, a member of Farmington Junior High Art Club, works here on a self-portrait for a mural. She is planting flowers to call attention to the importance of taking care of the earth.

A mural created and painted by Farmington Junior High’s art club shows a child representing “hope” coming out of a jar. The students started on the project in the spring and have finished it up this summer.

Mural artist Octavio Logo and Farmington Junior High art teacher Gretchen Wilkes work together on a section of a mural being painted by her art club.