WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-New Mural to Trace 400 years of Clinton County History
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Plattsburgh, New York - October 20, 2008
Organizers of a project called 'EYES OF THE CHILDREN' held up a mock painting Monday, of the large mural that will be put up on the wall of the Clinton County government building.
Art and social studies teachers from nine classes of seventh graders throughout the county met to dicuss the work that will immerse students in the history of their county. Each class will be assigned a time period to work on.
"They will do a poster depicting the agriculture, social and economical development during their time period," said project organizer, Bucky Seiden. "The poster will be made into a ceramic mural."
Students will mold clay for the tiles, then glaze them and get them ready for installation in June. The 35-foot-long and 10-foot-wide mural will be finished just in time for quadricentennal events in the county.
Sue Young is a potter who will work on the project. "We've come up with some basic shapes that they will be able to cut the tile and as you can see these shapes will puzzle together almost anyway," she said.
A smaller mural was done by students at the Peru High School last year. Teachers taking part in the historical mural say that it is a very exciting one to take on, but it can be a challenge.
Rick Perry is a teacher at the Saranac Central School. "To do a new thing in your own school district is hard but using all districts will be impressive when it is done."
The project organizers are also looking for volunteers to help put the tiles on the government center wall in June. They can sign up at the county historical office. While this will require a lot of work to complete, teachers said that it will be a success, "one that Samuel de Champlain would be proud to put his seal of approval on."
Jack LaDuke - WCAX News
