Thousands of Oconomowoc students embark on train art mural project
By Rebecca Seymour
Special to the Enterprise
OCONOMOWOC — More than 2,000 Oconomowoc Area School District elementary students had the opportunity to get on board a public art project commemorating the history of train travel in their community.
After being derailed last spring due to the pandemic, the art project to create a multi-dimensional mural to adorn the 32-foot-long, six foot- high pedestrian tunnel that runs under the railway between West Second and West South streets near the Oconomowoc Public Library was back on track this September.
Working beside their art teachers and professional artists Abigail Engstrand, Terri Field and Anne Raskopf, students in grades 4K through fourth grade from Greenland, Ixonia, Meadow View, Park Lawn, and Summit elementary schools all had a hand in adding their artistic touches to the gigantic mural.
This first-of-its-kind project is part of the school district's GROW Art initiative, offering students experiences to work together to explore and gain a greater appreciation for the arts.
Summit Elementary art teacher Jill LaGrange has been sharing a passion for art with her students for 33 years. About two years ago LaGrange, along with Engstrand, Field, and Raskopf, approached Oconomowoc officials with their idea for the project as part of the city's public mural program.
"A lifelong dream of mine has been to give kids the experience to work on public art projects. It's important to provide ways that students can appreciate art firsthand. This is a project that the whole community will appreciate," she explained.
Once approved, the artists wrote a grant and received funding from The Imagine A Day Courtney Bella Foundation with support from the ORBIS Corporation to help pay for the approximately $8,500 project. Sherwin-Williams of Oconomowoc also donated the paint used by the artists.
"This project is amazing. When I read the description, I was so excited I had goosebumps. The pedestrian tunnel was not aesthetically appealing and now it is a beautiful work of art that will be there for the community to enjoy for a really long time," added Brad Bella of The Imagine A Day Foundation.
Railfan art
"We're all so thrilled to be able to work on this project. The tunnel used to be dark and dingy and now it is beautiful and bright," said Raskopf. "It was also great to talk with the kids about the value of public art. We're creating a work of art that thousands of people will see. It gives a sense of pride in your community. These kids will grow up with it and they'll be able to show their kids what they created."
Focal points of the large art installation illustrate Oconomowoc's rich history of train travel, and the present train traffic throughout the city.
The mural specifically pays honor to renowned Wisconsin industrial artist Brooks Stevens and his Hiawatha luxury train car designs in the late 1940s for the Milwaukee Railroad. The Twin Cities Hiawatha traveled twice daily from Chicago to Minnesota, making stops in Oconomowoc.
Stevens also designed Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. His son David and his family once lived in Oconomowoc and still reside in the area.
Along with the trains, passengers peering from the train's windows are also featured, as well as people on bikes, Oconomowoc's Depot and other city landmarks and the surrounding landscape.
Artist Terri Field met Brooks Stevens when she was a student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and gained experience illustrating trains while working for Kalmbach Publishing in Waukesha.
"I started the initial drawing of the train mural, but then we all collaborated on how the whole project could look and how it would connect to Oconomowoc," she explained. "It has been really fun working with the kids and with Anne and Abby. To go from a little drawing into something so big, and to see it installed and how it transforms that space has been a wonderful experience."
Tunnel vision
To prepare the 32-footlong pedestrian tunnel for the 80 painted plywood panels, LaGrange and her husband Paul Leach powerwashed the gray concrete walls and ceiling. Paul and retired OHS carpentry teacher Jay Eppert then spent four days drilling into the concrete and attaching the mural's puzzle pieces to the walls and ceiling of the tunnel.
The art installation team also included Raskopf and Engstrand and community members Julie Eppert and Suellyn Rohrer, who helped improve the areas around the entrances of the tunnel with brush removal and new perennial plantings.
"I am very grateful to be a part of this project. I was worried about having three artists collaboratively design something painted by hundreds of very young artists, but the painting looks bright and beautiful and textured and strong. Allowing others to add to the whole vision and change the flow a bit — something new and beautiful blooms," added Engstrand.
Juliana M. is in third grade at Greenland Elementary School and helped paint the orange and red stripes featured on the train.
"I think it's really cool that everybody got to be a part of it. It was fun to paint and when I saw the finished train it looked so good. I feel happy when I'm doing art and really proud of what I made," she said.
More that 2,000 OASD elementary students spent several weeks painting 80 large plywood panels that were pieced together to adorn the 32-foot-long, six-foot-high pedestrian tunnel that runs under the railway between West Second and West South streets near the Oconomowoc Public Library. Pictured are Paul Leach, left, and Jay Eppert installing the panels to the concrete walls and ceiling of the tunnel.
Rebecca Seymour/Special to the Enterprise
Meadow View Elementary School first-grader Serenity C. adds her special touches to the Oconomowoc School District's community art mural project.
Submitted photo
The OASD student public art project mural now adorns the 32foot-long, six-foot-high pedestrian tunnel that runs under the railway between West Second Street and West South Street near the Oconomowoc Public Library. This is what the tunnel looked like before the art installation last weekend.
Rebecca Seymour/Special to the Enterprise