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Fair Woodland dedicates a mural
Mural drawn by students hangs in Legislature
On Saturday, Dec. 15, the Nassau County Legislature held a ceremony to dedicate a mural that was drawn by students at the Woodland Middle School.
The four-by-eight-foot mural depicts the grand façade of the Nassau County Legislative Building itself, a large American flag, and the Nassau County Legislative seal.
The mural was part of a program that Dr. John Healy, an art teacher at Woodland Middle School, has subscribed to for 20 years.
The program, called “Learning About the World Through Art,” enables the students to paint murals of locations that exist throughout Nassau County. In prior years, Healy’s students have drawn murals of the Belmont Park Race Track in Elmont and the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. “[The students] learn art skills and techniques, but then they’re also learning about the world through art,” said Healy.
Healy had originally approached County Legislator Norma Gonsalves, who lives in East Meadow, with the idea of painting the Legislature, and Gonsalves was on board. “I said it would be a great venue to have the work of the kids displayed,” said Gonsalves.
Approximately 35 kids involved with Healy’s art club drew the mural, and also added faces of people — either themselves or people that they knew — at the bottom. “It establishes the diversity of Nassau County,” said Healy.
Gonsalves said she was amazed when she saw the finished product. “I think it was a very prominent piece, and a piece that will be hanging there for a long time,” she said.
And Healy added that the dedication ceremony was a very special moment, not just for him, but for the kids. “Imagine making something in the classroom, and then having it go to your County Legislature,” he said.
