By Staff Reports
For HDMedia
With the Artemis II crew circling the moon and headed back to Earth, another perspective of space now graces an interior wall of a West Side nonprofit.
On Wednesday, at the new headquarters of Legal Aid of West Virginia in the Elk City neighborhood of Charleston’s West Side, a youth-inspired mural was unveiled featuring a galaxy scene with floating, flying whimsical creatures.
In late February, seven young artists, ages 4 to 7, each designed a character that was then incorporated into a mural at the law offices at 123 Washington St. W., which provides free legal services and advocacy.
Over the last month adult artists painted the characters into a mural — just as the children designed them, but about three times bigger.
After the initial design session with the young artists, the muralists created digital renditions of the original drawings, adding their own creative flair onto the characters the children created.
Jeff Pierson, director of Charleston’s Office of Public Art, said on Wednesday that many of the muralists consulted with their young artist partners about any changes, asking for their thoughts on color and detail choices.
“We tried to stay true to the kids’ drawings but bring them to life,” Pierson said.
The digital renditions were made into decal stickers that were adhered to the 15-by-20-foot, space-inspired background that was hand-painted by the artists. They used Q-tips to paint the stars.
Wednesday evening, the children who participated were brought out blindfolded to see the finished mural. Many of their faces lit up with smiles when they saw their ideas realized in the mural.
“I’m going to be excited to see it like every day,” said Jillian White, 7, whose mother, Kate White, is the executive director of Legal Aid.
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