Noxon students' art brightens Plains business

The owners of the Washtub Laundromat in Plains takes pride in a clean and efficient establishment, but now it's a lot more appealing, thanks to a group of art students from Noxon High School, who painted a colorful mural for customers to see.

Owner Chad Kavanaugh said there were bare walls at the laundromat that needed "perking up." "The mural is great, totally exceeds my expectations," said Kavanaugh, who purchased the laundromat with his wife, Lynne, last October. "It really brightens up the place," said Kavanaugh.

Eight Noxon High School students, Superintendent John Martin, bus driver Mike Hardin, and art teacher Jessica Novak delivered the 4 by 8-foot mural to the Washtub Laundromat on Willis Street last Monday afternoon. The mural was painted on a piece of indoor plywood purchased by Kavanaugh. The mural is a collage of colorful images of patriotic themes and Montana and Native American elements, along with a lone horse for the Wild Horse Plains concept.

It was Kavanaugh who came up with the idea more than a month ago and advertised the idea while looking for volunteers on Sanders County 411 to paint a mural on the laundromat walls. Martin said that he and Noxon School Board Chairman David Pafford approved the request and asked Novak if she and her students were interested in taking on the project.

"She came to the laundromat and we discussed each of our needs. We agreed on a patriotic/pride of Montana mural theme, in part because I am a military veteran and the folks here should be very proud of this great state," said Kavanaugh, who served in the Navy. Kavanaugh delivered the plywood to the school and was given a tour of the art class. He said he could see the kids were gifted and looked forward to having them do the project.

Around 40 students from seventh to twelfth grades have been working on the project since April 4 and finished April 28, putting almost 56 hours into the project. Four to six students worked on each section, said Novak. All the students submitted 8x10 or 9x12 colored pencil drafts of their ideas. The sketches were laid out and the students voted on the best ones, said Kovak. Many of their ideas were similar, but she said there were some good ideas that didn't make it onto the final artwork. Aiden Currie, a freshman, had a bison in his art, and junior Alyssa Gonzales had a Native American headdress. Both were among the students that delivered the art to Plains. The students created a drawing on the plywood prior to applying paint in order to see the proportion, position and scale.

"It was hard to choose; they all did a great job," said Novak, who stayed behind the scene. "I helped direct the creation process by providing students the opportunities to express their ideas both as individuals and as a class and create a mural that represents both their collective vision and Chad's requests," said Novak. The teacher said she provided feedback and suggestions throughout the project to help students stay on track. "I did end up doing some painting along with the students both to show techniques as well as help the mural have a cohesive look," said Novak.

Noxon is her first school as an art teacher, but she looks forward to her class doing other community projects. She wanted to do the project because murals give the students experience to work on a large scale, which gives them the opportunity to work outside their comfort zone by interacting through community and businesses ties, while seeing how art impacts a community. Novak believes that if a professional artist would have commissioned to do the project, it would have cost around $5,000. She was confident that her students had the ability to do the job. She added that they have been working hard on techniques for larger projects and on their technical skills, such as shading, color mixing, and drawing accuracy.

Kavanaugh said he was pleased with the students' work and feels it adds color to his establishment. "Of course I see lots of talent and a very wholesome group of kids," said Kavanaugh.

"I am incredibly proud of my students," said Novak. "They have shown such dedication, creativity, and growth throughout this project and it has been amazing to see how they responded to the project and worked through the challenges and creative process as a team."