CREATIVITY

Art All Around

Creativity and collaboration brighten the basement halls

Delphian students are covering previously plain basement walls with colorful murals. The art project began in spring 2020 during Delphian’s spring break, when the pandemic led most students to decide to stay on campus and continue their studies rather than go home and not know if they could return. Head of School Trevor Ott encouraged faculty and students to dream up new, creative ideas to stay productive The murals project was one of the ideas born.

During spring break many students created new murals on empty walls throughout the basement corridors. The new tradition continued during spring break 2021 when students created even more murals. One such piece is a colorful village scene incorporating buildings from around the world on one side, with an explosion of sunshine, color, and rainbows on the other. The mural is over eight feet tall and thirty feet long!

We caught up with artist Evie Xia this past summer, to learn more about the creation of one of the murals and her love of art.

Delphian: Evie, how did you get involved in painting murals around campus?

Evie: This past spring break, many students had to stay on campus due to COVID restrictions. One of my classmates was organizing activities for students to do, and he asked me if I could paint a giant mural in the basement. He said it would be an adventure, so I said ok! But then he only gave me one day to create a sketch of what I wanted to paint. I made a sketch in one day,

VIEW FROM THE HILL

mural designed by Evie Xia and painted by Delphian Students

I led a big group of student painters that volunteered to help.

Students working on the Spring Break 2021 mural

Rise Up mural project in progress 2020

showed it to my art advisor, and got started the next day.

D: How long did the mural take to paint?

Evie: I worked on it for two hours a day for ten days over spring break this year. But I had a lot of help. I led a big group of middle school student painters that volunteered to help me. We all worked on it together, different students painting different parts. After spring break was over I worked on it some more, making some revisions.

D: Where are you from, and how long have you been painting?

Evie: I grew up in northern China, near Shanghai, and I started painting between the ages of 3 to 5. There was an art class in kindergarten and I loved it so I kept signing up for other art subjects. When I came to Delphian, I continued to paint but I learned how to do ceramics and other art styles, too.

D: How did you find out about Delphian?

Evie: I had traveled to Australia with my father, and while we were there a friend told him about the school. He told us that I should come here, so we started learning about the school, and then I started here!

D: Did you see any kangaroos while you were in Australia?

Evie: Of course! They just pass by on the side of the road!

D: Have you painted a kangaroo?

Evie: [laughs] Not yet.

D: What’s your favorite subject to paint?

Evie: I love painting people’s faces the most. I have seven or eight pieces like that in the school’s student art gallery. I’ll paint other random stuff, though. I have watercolor pieces of corked bottles with scenes inside. One of them has a lighthouse and an ocean with fish inside the bottle.

D: We love those pieces! You mentioned ceramics—what kind of ceramic pieces do you make?

Evie: I like to make pots and vases on the pottery wheel, but I make sculptures, too. I’m making a life-sized clay sculpture of a young child right now.

D: We noticed that you’re helping other students in the ceramics studio this summer.

Evie: Yes, I’m doing Delphian’s summer internship this year in between my junior and senior years. I am so interested in ceramics that I am now helping teach younger students in Ceramics Camp every afternoon. It’s really fun!

Rise Up mural project in progress 2020

Rise Up Mural

D: If next year is your senior year, what do you plan to do after graduation?

Evie: I’m planning to go to art college. I want to apply to Parsons in New York City. I’m getting prepared and putting my portfolio together now. I haven’t completely decided, but I’m probably going to apply to their fashion design program.

When I came to Delphian, I continued to paint but I learned how to do ceramics and other art styles, too.

D: Wow! Do you sew and design clothes, too?

Evie: Yes, I like to embroider patterns into the cloth I work with. When I see cool patterns or something cute from a cartoon, I sew them into my outfits.

A mural painted by Daniella Porras-Sholes during the spring of 2020 as a senior project

Daniella working on her mural spring 2020

D: After college, what would be your dream job?

Evie: I want to establish my own brand, maybe creating streetwear. I’m really into skateboarding. You can see some skateboards I’ve painted up on the wall in the 201 dorm hallway.

D: Do you see yourself doing more murals and wall art in the future?

Evie: Yes! I want to do graffiti art next. When I go home after the summer, my dad said that I can create some giant graffiti art murals on the walls at his office.

D: That sounds amazing! We can’t wait to see it.