Craft Alliance Mural Program: 2002-2003

The Craft Alliance Mural Program began in 1995. Since then Craft Alliance has partnered with ten city schools to create permanent ceramic tile murals. Working with school administrators, faculty and students, Craft Alliance Outreach develops unique artist residencies to facilitate the production of these murals, which are created, from concept to end product, by the students. The murals serve to communicate concepts and themes relevant to the participating schools.

Six Pillars of Character mural
Lyon Academies of Basic Instruction (K-5)
7417 Vermont Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111
314-533-1944

The three artists in residence: Nicole Northway, Ashley Reineke and Jason Triefenbach worked diligently, meeting once a week throughout January, February, March and April (for a total of nine one hour and twenty minute sessions) with one-hundred-fifty 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to create the Lyon A.B.I. mural. The mural theme was tied into a current national educational model known as Character Education.

Each of the six classes was assigned to question, investigate and visually communicate their group collaborative understanding of one character attribute. The final mural presents these individual character traits as pillars, suggesting that these very traits create architecture of support for the students of Lyon A.B.I. Upon completion of the classroom sessions, the tiles were brought to Craft Alliance for glazing and firing.

The Six Pillars of Character mural was installed by the artists in residence during the month of May and dedicated Friday, May 30th, 2003 during Lyon’s "Do the Right Thing" ceremony.

Dewey International Studies School mural
6746 Clayton Ave. St. Louis, Mo. 63139
314.645.4845

Dewey International Studies School, home of the Dewey Dragons, is an elementary magnet school located at 6746 Clayton Avenue in the southwestern section of the city of St. Louis. At Dewey International Studies School, the staff seeks to develop responsible, competent, self-directed contributing citizens of the world who have an awareness and appreciation for human differences and similarities through the study of world languages and cultures.

The three artists in residence, Jason Segall, Leslie Reuther and Janice Wallace worked with a pull-out population of fifteen 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade gifted students on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for a total of nineteen classroom sessions lasting one hour each.

The mural is developed around an international theme that communicates the idea of a "world community," and Dewey's place within that community.

Upon completion of the classroom sessions, the tiles were glazed and fired at Craft Alliance.

The "World Community" mural was installed on the exterior of Dewey I.S.S. during the month of May and dedicated on Thursday, May 22nd, 2003 during Dewey’s International Festival.

Exterior Murals

Meda P. Washington School
"Raising a Better Future"
2030 S. Vandeventer
St. Louis, Mo.
314-771-4041

Blow Middle School
" Where I Belong"
516 Loughborough
314-353-1349

Trousant L’Ouverture Accelerated Middle School
"The Chuck Close Project"
3021 Hickory St.
St. Louis, Mo.
314-664-3579

Delmar Harvard Elementary School
" The Delmar Harvard Tile Mural"
711 Kingsland
St. Louis, Mo.
314-290-4390

Dewey International Studies School
"World Community"
6746 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO

Craft Alliance
"Young Artists Self Portraits"
6640 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO
(Note: Now installed on the front facade. Funded by, but is not a part of, the Mural Program.)

Interior Murals