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Cloverdale youngsters welcome mural they envisioned
CLOVERDALE — For as exciting as it has been to see murals popping up across Putnam County in recent years, the backstory of one particular piece in the 2024 Putnam County Mural Festival made it particularly heartwarming.
Looking out the windows of Jenna Lanham’s classroom at Cloverdale Elementary School, the kindergarten class of 2023-24 (now first-graders) noticed a rather bland building — the water tank and accompanying brick building owned by the Town of Cloverdale.
With the Putnam County Mural Project looking for canvases countywide for the 2024 festival, the kids learned they had the chance to change the scenery for future classes.
Through the students’ initiative, the Cloverdale Water Dept. building was one of seven sites chosen for 2024.
When Utah-based artist Brooke Smart was applying to be a part of the festival, she knew which particular project she wanted.
“A mural project that combined my love of painting murals with my love of children and education seemed like the perfect fit,” Smart said. “I’m excited to give the children of Cloverdale Elementary something fun and exciting to look at every day, and to help beautify that part of their world.”
With the mural nearing completion last week and the final celebration of the festival just a day away, the festivities got under way a little early in Cloverdale, with students from Cloverdale Elementary — as well as a few from Cloverdale High School who helped on the project — gathering with local donors and dignitaries for a ribbon cutting.
For Lanham, the event was a celebration of her last two classes — those who got the ball rolling and those who were there when the job was getting done.
“You’ve had to share me, you’ve had to share our classroom,” Lanham said to the current class. “You’ve been awesome.”
Also vital to the project were the Town of Cloverdale, which provided a mural location to brighten students’ school days, and First National Bank, which purchased paint for the project. In honor of this, bank Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Todd Lewis cut the ribbon on the mural.
The artist is hopeful the project will continue to brighten the community for years to come.
“I hope it adds some excitement to the many students’ and teachers’ days every day, as they pass it on their way to and from school,” Smart said. “Art in a community has a way of giving new life to a place. It helps those who see it to look at the world around them through a different lens. I’ve included clovers in the designs, and I’m hoping the mural will act as a symbol of the amazing community they live in.”