THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290747
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Michael Dontigney, 10, draws inspiration from the Italian artist Michelangelo.
He also draws in the morning and in the afternoon, said his art teacher at Windsor Woods Elementary School, Pat Murray.
``He always comes in and helps me before school and after school,'' said Murray of the aspiring artist.
A fifth-grader and member of the school art club, Dontigney recently helped Murray execute an idea based upon Michelangelo's famous ceiling murals in the Sistine Chapel, though admittedly this project is less grand.
The school was built in 1965 and its 30-year-old roof was replaced last summer.
When the new roof leaked on the ceiling tiles, Murray decided to create a more colorful space - and repair the acoustic tiles creatively.
Tiles were removed and painted by art club students.
Dontigney and classmate David Murphy contributed a brightly colored geometric design to the mosaic of ceiling tiles in the art classroom.
Now, when students look up at the ceiling, instead of seeing plain white tiles, they see the geometric design as well as Peanuts characters, a world globe and other works of art.
Only some of the tiles have been painted so far.
``It will be an ongoing art club project,'' said Murray, whose club is composed of fourth- and fifth-grade students.
The 30-member group will make an artistic excursion to New York City in April.
They will be accompanied on the trip by 10 chaperones, including school principal Drummond Ball.
``We're going to take the Amtrak up, see a Broadway show and tour some art museums, including the Metropolitan,'' said Murray. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by Gary Edwards
Ceiling tiles
Pat Murray, art teacher at Windsor Woods Elementary School, directed
the ceiling tile project.
by CNB