Mural Dilemma, Volume 6: One Dot at a Time

So close, and yet so far. The finished mural will have close to 400 squares and triangles. There are about 30 students in the class. That is a lot of squares per student. Not every student is in class every day, and some students take several days to finish a single square.

We're almost done, with about 75 pieces left to finish. This image to the left is a stack of finished squares awaiting application to the plywood. The final size of the mural will be about 20' x 5'.

Once the proper paint colors are mixed, the process of adding dots with a Q-tip begins. It is a long and monotonous process. Some students are methodical and slow, and others have opted for speed in lieu of accuracy.

There is an amazing depth of color present in the layers of dots that the students painstakingly apply to the squares (and triangles), and more dots usually makes for a better looking square.

Squares that are in progress or finished get turned in to a central location to be approved by me. I check for color and line accuracy. Some get returned to the original artist to fix, some get passed on to different students to amend as necessary, and some I fix myself. Squares that are just a few dots away from being completed I often finish as well.

As squares are finished and approved, they are temporarily taped to the plywood in their final locations, so we can begin to see the picture come together. Only a few more squares to go before we can start gluing them down permanently.

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