Edinburgh middle and high school students work together to design the mural for the Edinburgh Food Pantry. The mural currently hangs in the lobby as people wait for their turn to shop.
Provided Photo
By Erika Malone | Daily Journal
emalone@dailyjournal.net
For The Republic
EDINBURGH — The Edinburgh Food Pantry received a pop of color with a new mural to welcome visitors — designed by Edinburgh art students.
“Visiting a food pantry may be hard for some people who feel like they failed to provide for themselves and their family,” said David Bauman, food pantry director. “I think it helps for the pantry to be a bright, welcoming place.”
The idea sparked for a mural after visiting Gleaners Food Pantry, who have a mural that fills the entire wall. The Edinburgh Food Pantry’s lobby area had a blank wall primed for art, and Gacsko was on board, Bauman said.
Bauman, a retired math teacher, already had a connection to art teacher Julie Gacsko, as they were colleagues for many years.
“My students had made murals for our school’s library in the past using 4’ x 4’ masonite boards that were later assembled together to create a 16’ x 8’ long mural,” Gascko said. “I decided to make it a side project that students could work on when they had the time.”
The students also sponsor a canned food drive every year and understand the importance of the food pantry to their community, she said.
“I was hoping that they would see what it takes to work together to develop an idea from start to finish,” Gascko said.
Explaining the concept to her students from grades sixth through 12th grade, each student submitted their idea of what the mural could look like, she said. After looking at the ideas, Gascko used ChatGPT to create design ideas based on the students’ word prompts.
“I had never used AI in the development of an art lesson,” she said. “It was helpful in that we had a strong design concept that could be printed multiple times for reference. Everyone has to be on the same page in order for it to work.”
After reviewing around 20 images, the students took a vote and overwhelmingly chose the design that now hangs in the food pantry lobby, she said.
“I explained the process and they took it from there,” she said. “It was a great experience for them to work together as a team to sketch out the design and make sure that the boards matched up together.”
Each team had the same color scheme to work with and needed to match the design and style, she said. The mural boards
Bauman said the volunteers at the food pantry do everything they can to make sure everyone feels welcome and accepted. This mural is a bonus.
“We have a ways to go for it to be bright throughout, but it’s a good start,” he said. “I hope this mural puts a smile on the faces of everyone who comes into the pantry.”
Bauman hopes this mural will not just brighten up the lobby as people wait their turn to shop, but provide an emotional and spiritual lift for those falling on hard times.
The Edinburgh Food Pantry, located downtown at 110 E. Main Cross St., is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Saturday and third Thursday of each month. The pantry is managed by Edinburgh Fellowship of Churches and is open to all town residents.
Follow them on Facebook at Edinburgh Food Pantry for updates.
