Over sixty life-sized animals, flowers, insects and other denizens of the Uwharrie Mountain
area are busily alive as the mighty Yadkin River splashes over an Alcoa power dam Into the
library of Badin Elementary School. The colorful wall paintings lend a dimension of realism
flows by us. The children get to see and
feel the uniqueness of our homes, and
so develop a healthy pride in it.”
Life-Sized
Life sized animals, insects, and plants
are at schoolchild height in the fore¬
ground of the mural. Among them are
a raccoon, a ‘possum family, but¬
terflies. deer, an owl. birds, fish, a
squirrel, and of course the State sym¬
bols. a cardinal in a flowering dogwood
tree. There are indigenous trees: pine,
oak, hickory, redbud, sassafras, maple,
and others. Also shown are domes¬
ticated plants which flourish in the
areas: azalea, camellia, forsythia, crepe
myrtle, and spirea. There's even a bit
of poison ivy and a spreading tangle of
kudzu. Once the mural was completed,
the artist provided a line drawing key
with a numbered legend which gives
the common and scientific name of
each of the sixty-five specific plants and
creatures. The glass over the key is
often left smudged by inquisitive
fingers.
Native materials lend authenticity to
the work. Rocks pulled out of the
Yadkin river bed were piled in the
“lailrace" of the dam. In the high
corner of the mural opposite the dam
there is a balcony retreat for students.
The mural in that area shows a view of
the Badin countryside from the Mor¬
row Mountain overlook, so the balcony
was made to resemble the overlook.
Blue slate stone from the Mountain’s
quarry was brought in. The Wagoners,
well known Stanly County stone¬
masons. built a wall around the balcony,
identical to the Mountain overlook. Un¬
derneath the balcony there’s a cave-like
area into which students go to study in
bean bag chairs.
How It Was Done
Susan Rice is a commercial artist
who trained at the Art Institute of Pitts-
A Mural To
Teach By
Art begins at home in this Stanly
County sehool libr
By BOB
Students at Badin Elementary School
in Stanly County are able to take a field
trip to sec local flora and fauna even
when the weather is bad. They just go
to the school library and study an ac¬
curately detailed three-wall mural. The
painting shows a panorama of local
scenes, including their swimming pier
on Badin Lake, the Uwharrie Moun¬
tains. the Yadkin River, the Narrows
Dam. and a view of their home town
and countryside as viewed from the top
of Morrow Mountain. In the foreground
arc over sixty life-sized paintings of
trees, wildflowers. wildlife, and insects,
each in the proper habitat. A note of
realism is added by a masonry section
of power dam which juts out of one
comer, with water rushing over the
spillway. It’s all dry. but imaginative
students lounging in the carpeted pit at
the base of the dam can almost feel the
spray as they look up. The pit is a fa¬
vorite spot for story telling
HII4KLE
This innovative presentation of the
local environment was painted by Susan
Rice. She carried out an overall plan
that was generated by a group of teach¬
ers headed by Principal Elvin Fisher.
A brainstorming session produced the
idea of a wall mural which would show
the local countryside and encourage
students to appreciate the history and
natural beauty of their home area. Years
of teaching experience had shown that
the local scene was much like the pro¬
phet who is without honor in the home
town: children grew up accepting it all
without developing an appreciation for
it.
One teacher said. “W: live in a beau¬
tiful. unique corner of the world. Mor¬
row Mountain State Park is nearby a
rugged section of the Uwharrie Na¬
tional Forest is across the Yadkin River,
two of Alcoa’s power dams are within
a couple of miles, and the river changes
its name to the Pee Dee just after it
THE STATE, JANUARY 1985
