Three Bellerose Composite students have brought some colour and cheer to a St. Albert seniors home by painting a floral mural.
Everitt Gardens residents in north St. Albert have watched with rapt attention these last few weeks as Bellerose Grade 12 artists Isabel McQuhae, Nyah Rushton, and Jorja Richardson painted an outdoor scene on the wall of one of the facility’s dining rooms. The trio put the finishing touches on the mural Jan. 30.
Everitt Gardens recreation manager Lori Kary said she had been thinking about putting some sort of artwork on the dining room’s wall when she saw a picture online of a temporary mural Bellerose IB Arts students had painted in their school. Impressed, she worked with Bellerose teacher Lindsay Bracken to hire the students to paint something at Everitt Gardens.
“We wanted to [connect] the generations by having students paint something,” Kary said, and by having the artists chat with the residents. McQuhae said she, Rushton, and Richardson previously worked together on the sheep/goat mural at the Sturgeon Community Hospital that was unveiled in June 2024.
They signed on to this job to get involved in the community.
“It’s a good passion project to help out
people and to make sure we help brighten someone’s day,” McQuhae said.
Rushton said the team started designing on the mural on Dec. 18, with the first daubs of paint applied on Dec. 29. The team worked about four hours a day four times a week for about three weeks on the piece, often during the evenings and over Christmas break.
Rushton said it was definitely a challenge for them to balance this work with diploma exams and part-time jobs. “I would do a math diploma prep course, then I’d come here and paint, then I’d go home and study more,” she said.
Rushton and McQuhae said the team aimed to have the mural bring colour and familiarity to what was windowless, beige room.
“We didn’t want any sharp, harsh edges,” McQuhae said, as they wanted something comfortable that invites the eye to trail along it.
The mural depicts a garden as seen through a window, and features rolling hills, flowers, and a gazebo. Rushton said the gazebo is similar to the one found behind Everitt Gardens, while the flowers were ones residents likely had in their own gardens.
Richardson said she used her knowledge as a florist to help the team depict the flowers properly. She also decided to use one particular shade of pink in the mural after seeing a resident toying with
the paint can it was in.
Rushton said it was nice to chat with the residents and see how much they enjoyed the mural. Kary praised the students for their dedication and professionalism, and said the mural would remind residents of gardening and other field trips.
“In memory care units, this [type of art] is exactly what we want to have.” Everitt Gardens resident Anne-Marie Rhodes, 91, said what the students had accomplished was amazing.
“I’ve never seen anything so spectacular like this in my life,” she said.
“I want to take all this with me!” she joked.
Rushton said the mural has been coated in a protective seal and should last for
many years.