Art teacher creates 'Mural Club' to enhance learning, atmosphere
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Martha Bachman, Trottier Middle School art teacher and the creator of the Mural Club PHOTO/MELISSA MUNTZ

Southborough - Walking through the halls of Trottier Middle School seems, at first glance, to be no different than walking through the halls of any other middle school.

There are lockers, notices for upcoming events and fund-raisers, random children on their way to the bathroom.

But when visitors look again, more closely this time, they see something much more unusual: bright, colorful murals painted in areas throughout the entire building.

There are fish blowing trumpets in the music hallway, Martin Luther King Jr. is spreading words of wisdom in the library, and breathtakingly accurate reproductions of famous paintings can be found on the walls outside of the art room.

All are done by the hands of students under the direction of one woman, Martha Bachman, Trottier Middle School art teacher and the creator of the Mural Club.

"I had a group of students that was so talented that I wanted to take them to the next level, push them past what they thought would be easy, and our first mural was created," she said.

Over the next five years, dozens of eighth-grade students have created oversized pieces of art located all over the school that promote diversity, acceptance and respect for others. Students in the Mural Club are given parameters to work within, but Bachman said she also stresses a freedom for students to expand on their own ideas and create something that is truly theirs.

"So much of this has to do with passion and enthusiasm. They're so creative and they have fun with it, I just tell them that their idea needs to make sense for the school environment in some way," Bachman said. "It can't just be 'Go, Red Sox', it has to be more global than that."

Students in mural club commit to 1-1/2 hours of work once a week for the entire year. Bachman said the process of going from brainstorming to getting ideas on paper to getting them on the wall of the school is a long one, but that the final result is worth the work.

"I think it gives them a sense of pride and ownership in the building, as well as just a happy memory of their time here," she said. "Students always ask me how long the murals are going to stay here, and I say at least as long as I'm here."

When Bachman created the Mural Club, she said she did it as much for herself as she did for her students.

"I was looking for a way to be constantly challenging myself to do better for them," she said. "I was asking myself how can I get them to go beyond what we're doing here, to give them the most out of the program."

Bachman said she has received a lot of support not only from Principal Linda Murdock (who's in line to have her door painted) but also the school parent group.

The cost of the program is roughly $200 to $250 per year, a cost Bachman said very little compared to what the school gets in return.

Although the Mural Club's creations are throughout the building, Bachman said there is plenty of open canvas still to be painted.

"I'm definitely not afraid of running out of wall space," she said.