Catholic school's mural more than a painting for those who created it

Published: 2004-07-02

CHICAGO (CNS) -- A new mural at Alphonsus Academy and Center for the Arts in Chicago is much more than a painting for those who have been involved in the project. For Arielle Torres, a seventh-grader at Alphonsus Academy, it was all about taking paint to canvas. For Sam Johnson, a graphic design student at DePaul University, it was about finding a way to incorporate the visions of dozens of students into a single work of art, and for DePaul art education major Jennifer Lee, it was about planning and finishing a project in which the students could take pride. The project -- a mural on the ground floor of Alphonsus Academy -- depicts two students, a statue of St. Alphonsus, St. Alphonsus Church and, on a ribbon woven through the painting, symbols of the arts and sciences children study. Alphonsus Academy art teacher Meltem Aktas and DePaul art professor Vincentian Brother Mark Elder couldn't be more pleased with the collaboration. "I wanted to emphasize the values of a Catholic education," said Aktas, an iconographer. "I thought we should take advantage of the resources our Catholic universities can provide."

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