LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Paris got a new piece of art downtown thanks to a local organization and group of dedicated students.
D21 Designs in Paris got a makeover on the south side of the building after Mayo Mural Makers and the Paris Improvement Organization (PIO) partnered to install a veterans mural.
Mayo Mural Makers, led by art teacher Millie Arp Hamilton, is a group of students from Mayo Middle School dedicated to bringing beauty to the community.
“They are just eager to be a part of something,” Hamilton said of her mural makers.
Hamilton said PIO fully funded the mural, buying supplies and materials for the project.
PIO approached D21 Designs owners Dennis and Diana Thomas about placing the mural on their building – and the couple happily agreed.
“I think it's amazing what PIO is doing to make our downtown look nicer. And I think it's going to be a great addition,” Diana said.
The new mural, consisting of 20 four-by-eight compressed boards, took two years to complete, with over 20 students lending a hand.
Hamilton drew the design before the students painted each section.
“This is a cool way for them to do a lot of that work kind of behind the scenes for a really awesome end result,” Hamilton said.
The mural features the American Flag in the background with service members saluting in front of an Illinois National Guard facility.
Also featured are two planted flags in front of the National Guard building – one reading “POW MIA – you are not forgotten,” and another reading " 1544th how much how far.”
We wanted to make sure that we included the six branches and then PIO also wanted to make sure that we included the 1544th,” Hamilton said.
In addition to painting the mural, students also learned the history behind what they were creating.
“We did a lot of research with the kids and had them look up current uniforms of all the different branches of the military,” Hamilton explained.
“We talked about the differences between the six branches and did a little bit of fun trivia about our military system and the flag. I need(ed) to make this relevant for them. I don’t want to just tell them what to do; I want to give them a little bit of the why behind what we're doing.”
Students also filled out a questionnaire about themselves, asking if they have any veterans in their families and what serving would mean to them.
Hamilton said the students thoroughly enjoyed the project and were thrilled to finally put it on display.
“Now that it's up, I think it's probably a lot more impactful,” she said.
The Mayo Mural Makers and Hamilton dedicated their own time to make the project possible, staying late after school and coming in on weekends.
“I appreciate the kids that give their time,” she said.
“Just their dedication and time – I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Hamilton credited not only the students who made the mural possible, but also the Mayo maintenance staff for safely storing and moving the painted boards from different locations.
“Twenty boards were delivered to Mayo and had to be moved around, and so I had to label each of them and every time they needed to be moved, I would have to send in a work order request for our maintenance team, and they would bring them from the basement up to the art room, which is on the second floor. So, there was just a lot of work