SUN PRAIRIE — The concrete band around the lower portion of the Prairie Phoenix Academy building and a concrete planter out front combined to make an ideal canvas for murals and mosaics created by the students.
Some of the art was whimsical — the mosaic prairie flowers, for example. Other murals feature sayings and illustrations that reflect more serious themes of the six alternative education programs housed in the Sun Prairie Area School District building. Elementary, middle and high school students attend the programs — collectively called Prairie Phoenix Academy — and took part in the project.
The art was created with the help of artist-in-residence Sharon Kilfoy, director of the Williamson Street Art Center in Madison, and her daughter and assistant, Shadayra Kilfoy-Flores. The project started last school year and was dedicated Nov. 7.
During a tour of the artwork, 17-year-old Morgan Hietpas pointed out some art with a puzzle piece theme that she conceived.
“We are all different pieces of the puzzle, we all just have to come together to complete it,” said Morgan, who is a junior at the alternative high school called School of Alternative Resources, or SOAR.
Another student, Elijah Kellum, 18, a senior at SOAR, pointed out the bridge on one large mural at the back of the school. He said it illustrates a link between where students are now to what they can achieve.
In addition to inspirational phrases and illustrations, some of the murals depict school philosophies and activities around the themes of renewal, service and adventure such as a canoe trip and landscaping work at a retirement home.
Before the students started the murals and mosaics, they did most of the power washing to prepare the surfaces.
Students from Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School next door also participated in the project, which gave the high school students a chance to use their leadership skills by being supervisors, Kilfoy said. Students in an art class at UW-Madison also took part, and community days were organized for family members and others to help out.
The project was funded through the American Girl Fund for Children and Dane Arts Power2Give program. Businesses also donated paint and tiles and mirrors for the mosaics.
“It was an opportunity for us to say, ‘You can be successful,’” said Wendi Tavs, principal of the Prairie Phoenix Academy.
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