Maryville High School National Art Honors Society students have finished painting a mural on the side of Get Fit Maryville, 911 E Broadway Ave, Maryville.
The MHS society, which is in its infancy, focuses on using art as an act of service.
MHS Art Teacher Raquel Roy said, “They are to use their gift of art in service to the community.”
They have offered activities like face painting at Special Olympics and painting pumpkins for the children’s hospital, but this was the first time they had taken on a project of this scale.
Using 21 gallons of paint, the students completed a large-scale mural depicting life in the foothills of the Smokies.
The students started working on the mural in December of 2023 when they were commissioned by Get Fit Maryville owner Tony Saddy.
Roy said the students put in around 500 hours of work into the mural.
Newly graduated students Elannah Loomey and Katie Workman talked through their process and pointed out areas of the mural they worked on, beside about 40 other students.
The whole project began with a collaborative design that all participating students had input on. They wanted the mural to represent the area, so the landscape is full of wildlife that reminded them of East Tennessee, like coneflower and monarch butterflies.
Saddy also wanted the mural to have an active theme, so the students included people enjoying activities like kayaking, hiking, running and weightlifting.
After they came up with the design, Saddy hung it in his gym so that members could also offer input on the design. Roy said he wanted to give them a sense of ownership.
Once the design was worked out, the students projected segments of it onto the wall in order to start building the outline.
They ran into a few problems with dimensions and had to free-hand much of the middle of the mural. The team of students had to work together to problem-solve and come up with solutions on the fly.
Loomey said a challenge she had to overcome was the texture of the brick they were painting on. Because the texture was so rough, instead of painting with strokes, she said she had to adopt a stabbing motion to distribute the paint evenly.
Because each student brought their unique talent and style to the project, the group had to learn to communicate effectively in order to keep the mural cohesive.
“We each had our own art style, but it combined into such a pretty work, and I feel like it represents the community so well, too,” said Workman.
Both Workman and Loomey share a sense of pride in being able to contribute to a project that beautifies their community.
“I’ve always loved volunteering with the community and especially with art-related things. I guess I just really like using art to help benefit the community with murals and face painting and things like that,” Loomey said.
Workman said every time she drives by the mural, she is reminded of their collective accomplishment.
Roy explained that taking on this commission also allowed them to learn about the process of getting city approval for a mural. For instance, Roy said Saddy initially wanted his business name in the mural, but they learned that if it were, then Saddy would be charged an advertising tax.
Saddy donated to the society for their work on the mural. With that money, Roy said the group was able to host an art show—complete with prizes—purchase cords for their graduating students and stock up on supplies they will need for future service projects.
“It helped jumpstart the club as a whole, I feel like, because we had existed without any funding,” Workman said.
The mural, which can be seen when driving north on East Broadway, is something the group is proud to bring to the community.
When asked why bringing art into the community is important, Loomey said, “I always go with the old expression, ‘The world without art is just eh.’ Art is everywhere. Art is culture; it shows who we are — you can’t go anywhere without looking at art and so I feel like this is something that just really enriches our community.”
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