Callie Cooper: holds her new mural design. She began looking for a place to paint the mural after returning to Auburn from Christmas break. Kyle Cooper / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
There will be an opportunity for students to help the community by painting a mural on the Bike Shop wall Saturday, April 12 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The event to paint the mural on the Bike Shop wall on the side facing the BCM is sponsored by the group Make Your Mark.
Make Your Mark is a group of people who use their artistic talent and passion to serve the community.
The idea to paint the mural came from Callie Cooper, a senior in exercise science.
“I wanted to do something to motivate people that are really talented with art and passionate about it,” Cooper said. “I hope it will unite people from all faiths, all races and all walks of life and show people that there is plenty of common ground to come together.”
She began working on the idea and searching for a wall after Christmas break. Julie McGowin offered Cooper the use of the Bike Shop wall at a meeting both were attending.
“It worked out really well, and the pieces just fell into place,” McGowin said.
McGowin had looked into having a mural placed on the wall a few years earlier, but it cost too much at the time. The mural will help enhance downtown Auburn.
“The school is really close to our hearts,” said Kristin McCormick, a senior majoring in radio, television and film. “We want to reach out and let the people who don’t have a voice have a voice.”
Cooper and McCormick went to the Boykin Center, which serves as a place to hold after-school programs for teenagers, and they asked for suggestions for the message the mural would bring to Auburn.
One girl immediately said dreams coming true, and the other students agreed.
“One central idea they agreed on was dreams come true,” McCormick said. “They shouted out their dreams like doctors and lawyers. It sounds kind of cheesy, but we really wanted to go with that.”
Cooper presented the mural idea to the City Council during its regular meeting last week to make sure the mural follows graffiti ordinances and to respectively get their approval.
The City Council was excited and supportive about the idea.
“I appreciate all her hard work and great idea and working to involve the community,” Mayor Bill Ham said. “It’ll brighten up the downtown, and she has gotten a lot of people involved and worked hard on it. I applaud her efforts.”
Cooper worked with Laurie Anne Johnson, a junior in art, and they created the design for the mural which will bring the message of accomplishing dreams.
The design begins with a wave, which represents the movement toward accomplishing one’s dreams.
The wave will be created by the handprints of those who volunteer to help with the mural painting.
The handprints of the wave will transform into birds flying toward the light in the corner of the mural, symbolizing dreams coming true.
The handprints represent each person placing his or her dream onto the wall.
Cooper expects a large turnout for the event. They have been advertising with T-shirts, and several local schools in the area plan to participate.
“I hope that it will be a symbol,” McCormick said. “Something people will look at and remember dreams can come true, and there’s hope.”
Anyone can come and contribute to the mural, regardless of prior artistic experience.
“There is a place for everyone to come and do something whether you have done something (with art) before or have never picked up a paintbrush before,” said McCormick. “You can help in many ways.”
The mural will be painted on the wall of the Bike Shop facing the BCM.
