Still need ideas for what to do at school for Earth Week? Why not take a page out of Mandy Hola’s book and make a DOT mural? She’s a student at Woodstock High School in Atlanta who single-handily took on the project of planning, painting and creating Woodstock High School’s DOT mural. All posts can originally be found on her own blog here.

October 21, 2011: On this day I met with two of my project facilitators to discuss my product, sketched up a rough draft of what my mural will look like, and met with Mr. Sebring, my principal, to discuss the location and other details about my product (a mural). Everything went really well. Both of the facilitators I met with (Mrs. Lauer and Mrs. Tesina) are really supportive of my ideas and enthusiastic about my project. Mr. Sebring is also on board with my idea and is helping me to get a final draft of the mural (in color) finished to present to him next time we meet as well as helping me to pick out a spot in the school where I can work on the mural (the lunchroom). I still need to meet with my 3rd project facilitator but due to conflicting schedules it’s been difficult to find. Here is a scan of my “lovely” sketch that I worked on to try and put my thoughts onto paper :)a date that will work for the both of us. Overall I’m excited to get started on actually painting my mural even though this whole planning process is just as important as anything. Tuesday January 17, 2012:  Activity: Continued painting my mural. Commentary: I’ve learned that I need to be careful when reaching
above my head with a paintbrush heaped with green paint. So now, with green paint in my hair I’ve started to trace designs of the world into the leaves portion of the tree and even add some detail. I’m just praying it looks ok when I finish that part and step back to take a look! I’m nervous tonight about how it’s going to turn out and I want to start painting more than 2-3 hours a day on this thing because I’m a little scared about time too. Other than my terrible nerves, I got a few funny looks as I was painting today. Of course, I’d look at me funny too if I was a little crazy girl dancing around with a paintbrush, singing off key to her iPod while slashing paint onto a wall in a high school cafeteria. I kind of love my geekyness sometimes, and yes, this is one of  those times! Anyways, all is well for now, just itching to start painting again tomorrow afternoon! March 13, 2012: Activity: I FINISHED my mural!!! Commentary: It’s done. D-O-N-E done. FINISHED! Needless to say I’m pretty happy about this, and I’m realizing that I have an extraordinary talent for finishing things last minute. Of course overall my mural has changed as my ideas for it have, and I knocked out a few of my ideas and added a few new ones, but in the end I think it looks pretty decent and at least I haven’t heard any gossiping freshman knock it yet! I’m just happy to be done, but it doesn’t really feel finished. I guess the idea hasn’t sunk in yet, and I still have a few changes I’d like to make now that I’m done, like some more details in the water (just little things like that) and I have to go over it soon with a top coat of some type so that it doesn’t chip in the long run. But still, I’m DONE!! Yay 😀 Here’s a final picture: