Color Mixed with Kindness
Stall Brook Students Collaborate with Artist on New Mural
By David Dunbar
On Friday, December 20, 2024, a colorful, engaging mural conceived by students and painted by a professional artist was unveiled at the Stall Brook Elementary School in Bellingham.
Principal Shannon Barca, who has 12 years of experience in school administration, says “I’ve never seen such a connection between the children and an outsider.”
The artist to which she referred is Bren Bataclan, a California-raised painter who owns an art studio in South Boston and for 20 years has been creating murals for schools. According to Bataclan’s website, the artist has gifted close to 4,000 paintings in over 100 countries and all 50 states, merely requiring recipients to “smile more.” This kindness-based effort led to mural painting, and the painter has now painted over 300 school murals.
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” he says. More information is available at www.bataclan.com, including examples of murals he has created for schools across America.
The local process started late last month – just before Christmas – with Bataclan meeting with students in kindergarten through third grade at the school. He asked them to come up with mural themes and submit drawings that he could paint. “We got 200 drawings to choose from,” he smiles.
“The kids did the drawings,” Bataclan explains, “and I did the painting. They brainstormed and came up with ideas. It took us about a week to get all this done!”
“This was truly an amazing experience,” says principal Barca. “The interactions between the students and Bren were absolutely touching.”
Core values of Stall Brook Elementary School include hard work, cooperation, respect, kindness, and inclusivity. And you can see each one in the new mural that covers multiple walls just inside the school’s main entrance.
