Students paint new Red Raiders mural at Belmont High School

BELMONT — Seniors at Belmont High School recently left their mark on the school with a paintbrush, completing a new, vibrant exterior mural that should last until their 20-year reunion.

The students, Spencer Cate, Miranda Daley, Autumn Main, Lyla McSheffrey and Bailey Perkins, are part of Joe Cilley’s 2-D design class. This year, knowing he wanted to add more murals to campus, he built the project into the curriculum.

His class loved it.

Many students were without much of an art background until taking Cilley’s drawing class. Now, all had an interest in drawing, plus special media. In class Friday, Cate was working on a pencil drawing, and Main was using sewing floss to mock-up 3-D art of a water lily.

“I feel like it's definitely a challenge for me, but I try my best, obviously, to work through it,” said Main, of Belmont. “And I feel like for the most part, I like having hard things to work through and it gives me something to work toward.”

Daley was inspired by the class project, and is now painting a mural of her own for her senior project.

Cilley, who has a background in drawing and painting, drew the design and sketched out the mural after hours via a projector in his classroom. Once it was on the building, the students contributed in their own unique ways.

“I did the lettering,” Main said. “I did stay after a few days and just touch up and go over a few things.”

Cate, of Canterbury, was a little nervous about making a mural mistake, so he specialized in filling in the larger portions with paint.

“Working on the mural, I really only did the body work, more like open, bigger areas of the mural,” he said. “I was a little bit afraid to mess up.”

Perkins, of Belmont, tackled some of the more intricate areas.

“I think a lot of us got to work on [lettering]. I started painting the face of the fox, which was one of the harder parts. And then Miranda ended up finishing that section of it,” she said. “We just definitely bounced around a lot.”

Perkins never thought she’d legally be allowed to paint the exterior bricks of Belmont High, and said it was surreal to see it so well-received.

“It does feel really good, because it was something that I never thought we'd really get to be able to do, like painting on the school. So when I get to see it, even when I'm by myself, it just feels good to see it,” she said. “Like Autumn said, there was so many people that were talking to us about it, even students that were talking to us about it. And everyone seems to really like it and I just think it's a good, like, communal thing that we got to do.”

The mural bursts with Red Raider energy, featuring pops of red and dark orange hues as an animated fox is caught in stride. It represents a new variation of the former mascot logo, far removed from a simple headshot.

“It's such a different design than, like, our actual mascot,” Perkins said. “The original one, it's just its face and honestly, in my opinion, it's kind of boring. [Cilley] did it so it looks like it's running.”

The project wasn’t without a few learning curves. To start, an exterior mural requires special sealant against the elements, including sunlight. It was new to Cilley, and despite his extensive research, it caused a few panic attacks.

“I was one of the only ones that could help him with it, and we ended up doing it differently, and then we had to mesh our different parts together. We didn't know how it was going to come out, but it actually came out really good,” Perkins said. “But it was something new that he hadn't even done.”

It could be tight quarters when painting at times, so students worked at opposite ends of the mural before meeting in the middle. It was also cold, and a few times, the students were held up because of the weather. 

It took roughly two weeks to complete. All that was worth it, given how much the community appreciates it.

“It's a focal point, but it's also like a rallying point, where there's like, ‘Oh wow, we have a lot of pride in this,’” Cilley said.

As they should be, the students are extremely proud.

“I think it's really cool, because even when we first started it, there were people coming up to us like, ‘This is so cool. It looks really good,’ and ‘You did such a good job,’” Main said. “Just knowing that I was a part of that, and the fact that everyone can see it going in [the school], especially, is really cool.”

The mural project has also received tremendous support from school administration.

“I was thrilled to see Mr. Cilley and our students taking the initiative to leave such a positive, lasting mark on Belmont High School. This mural began when our art teacher and his students approached me, asking for permission to design and paint a piece that would artistically express the pride they feel for our school community,” said Principal Matt Finch. “We know firsthand how deeply our students and staff care about representing Belmont with integrity and spirit. And that type of sportsmanship is not only seen on our playing fields; it has become the norm of our community and culture, and we see it every day — in classrooms, hallways, and in the community. We are incredibly proud of who we are as a school community, and even prouder that our students wanted to celebrate and share that pride in such a creative, public way.”

Cilley said he's glad the students enjoyed the project. He’s also glad to see more art liven up the world, including the new addition of colorful senior parking spaces.

“I really love the fact that there's just more color in the school, and it's not so sanitary when it comes to the sterile '90s vibe of the paint palette,” he said. “What [the students] got to do, I think, is start to open doors for other things, which is awesome.”

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.