Hunting for Roadrunners:

Just steps inside Central Elementary School’s front door, students and visitors are greeted by a freshly painted mural, full of playful details and familiar symbols of Riverside life.  The colorful, 54 foot mural is a glimpse into the imagination and school spirit of the students who helped inspire it.  Funded by Central’s PTO’s “Artist in Residence” program, planning for the mural started nearly a year before local artist and muralist, Erika Vazzana, began to set up shop in Central’s entry hallway. 

When the PTO began discussing funding a mural, the key considerations were where it should go, which artist to commission, and how to involve students.  Even without knowing her name, Riverside families were already acquainted with Erika Vazzana’s work – after all, who hasn’t spotted the Riverside Foods mural?  The long blank wall in the hallway past the front office was selected as the ideal location, and Central’s art teacher, Olivia Lauritsen, took the lead in planning how students would be brought into the creative process.

Olivia shared that the first step was to help her students better understand the process and impact of mural-making. “One highlight was introducing students to Sick Fisher, a Chicago-based mural artist and a friend of mine. His creative process and community-centered approach helped students see how public art can transform a space and bring people together.”

She added “Students looked at murals by a variety of artists and styles before being prompted with the question: ‘What is a mural, and what kind of mural would you want in your school?’  They talked with peers, shared their ideas with the class, and spent time creating individual designs. Every student participated, and the room quickly filled with imaginative and meaningful artwork that truly reflected both the school and the community around it.”

The outcome was over 300 drawings.  Erika shared “We looked at every single one to look for common threads.”  She called the project a labor of love, which is evident as not only did she save all of the submissions, she also saved the paper plates students used as pallets which will become bookmarks.  In the thick folder of drawings, she pointed to the individual drawings that made it into the mural, many of local flowers and wildlife.  “I think of myself as the facilitator.  I looked for designs that would be easy to render and project on the wall. And what would pop.”

Each student at Central was given the opportunity to contribute to the mural in small group visits during art class.  Before being handed a paintbrush and assigned an area to paint, Erika gave some guidance on avoiding “glopies” (large globs of paint) and chatted excitedly with students who were proud to point out their own designs within the mural.  Coincidentally, second graders were also learning about murals that same week through the PTO’s Cultural Arts Program, where parents join the class to talk about artists and create art together. The timing meant students were both learning about famous muralists in class and contributing to one in their own school.

Third-grade parent, Alejandra Lawton, stepped up to lead the mural committee and coordinated student visits to the makeshift worksite. She recruited parent volunteers from each class to help chaperone, which had the added benefit of giving many parents the chance to see the mural coming to life. During the week students joined the project, Alejandra watched them carefully fill in the outlines Erika had prepared, and had an upclose view as “it transformed a plain white wall into something exciting and energetic.”  Her biggest challenge? Convincing students to hand over their brushes! Most didn’t want their painting time to end.

After the students’ painting week wrapped up Erika still had several weeks of work ahead, often painting after school hours, which gave her time to add a few hidden surprises to the mural.  If you look closely in the clouds, you’ll spot inspirational quotes from Arthur Ashe, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Dr. Seuss.  Fifth grade student Addie Lendman’s handwriting was used for the messages, which Erika projected and transferred onto the wall.  There are also an untold number of Roadrunners (Central’s mascot) waiting to be discovered, a suggestion by school secretary, Dina Witken, who had a front row seat to the mural’s progress. Erika shared that as she neared the end of the project, students often stopped her in the hallway,

As an important final step, the mural was sealed, protecting it from the wear and tear of more than 300 students bumping into the wall with backpacks, boots, and books for years to come. 

From the time the PTO first approached Erika, until the very last can of paint was packed up, students, parents, school staff, and the artist spent hundreds of hours creating something that could exist nowhere else but Central.  When asked what she hopes students will see when they look at the mural, Erika Vazzana shared, “I hope they feel that they were a part of it, just as much as I am. It’s their mural!”

Olivia Lauritsen shared her own experience “When I was a student at Hauser, I had the opportunity to paint sunflowers above the Hauser art room. They’re still there today, and every time I see them, I’m reminded that my mark mattered. I hope that when students walk past the mural each day, they feel a deep sense of pride and connection, knowing that they helped create something lasting.”

Written by: Maryjane Bates, November 2025

Photo credit: photos provided by Erika Vazzana, Alejandra Lawton, and Maryjane Bates