Camden artist Randy Fein, left, returned to Houlton after a 30 years to again work in the local school district on an art project. She collaborated with art teacher Pam Chernesky who left the district at the end of the school year to create a mural that has since been installed outside the Houlton High School Performing Arts Center. Joining Fein to discuss her latest project are, from left, Joellen Merry, Nancy Wright, Hollie McPartland and Karen Donato, who were all members of the original grant committee for the district. (Courtesy of Karen Donato)
HOULTON, Maine — Houlton Community Arts Center has a new visual arts mural thanks to a collaborative effort.
The project, sponsored by the Community Arts Center Council, began last winter when Camden artist Randy Fein came to Houlton Middle-High School to work with Pam Chernesky, an art teacher at the school last year.
The two along with about 40 middle school students completed the project. Together they created a clay relief mural celebrating creativity and the arts.
Fein shared her love of clay as well as her personal experiences as a working artist.
“One of the guiding principles of the Maine Learning Results is to become a collaborative worker,” said Chernesky. “This residency certainly provided an opportunity for students who were enrolled in visual arts and theatre to share ideas. They worked together to create one unified mural that tells a story about creativity and its role in their lives.”
The middle school students also created a personal symbol relief tile. The mural celebrates visual arts, theatre, dance, music and the literary arts. It has been installed outside the Houlton High School Auditorium to be enjoyed by students and the community for years to come.
This was not the first visit to Houlton for Fein. Nearly 30 years ago RSU 29 received a school based innovative educational grant. The purpose of the grant was to implement arts in the classrooms.
That grant was written by eight district teachers — Tara Austin, Sally Cole, Karen Donato, Jan Martin, Hollie McPartland, Joellen Merry, Vicki Perry Wilson and Nancy Wright. At that time, artists not only visited schools in Houlton, but also the Littleton School and Wellington School in Monticello.
The district was awarded $17,388 the first year, with the state’s share of $13,163 and the local district chipping in $4,225. The grant funded five specified artists in pottery, dance, music, storytelling and basket-making.
The teachers wrote a second grant in 1988 and received a second year of funding for the arts. At that time Fein worked with students creating an “Our Town” clay mural for each of the communities involved. The murals are still on display in various schools.
