As they say, it takes a village

Robbinsville – The culmination of a summer art project is on permanent display for everyone to enjoy.

Thanks to a grant, Robbinsville Middle School was able to host a two-week camp in July, which was open to rising 6th-8th graders.

Little did the registrants know just how impactful one of the assignments would be.

Unveiled two weeks ago, a massive 14x28 mural – which pays homage to the Tail of the Dragon, the popular strip of U.S. 129 just outside Graham County – now faces the northbound lane of Rodney Orr Bypass, on the side of the Village Shopping Center.

“The end of our camp culminated with an art exhibit, so the families and community members could come see all the amazing work our students created,” Robbinsville Middle School Art Teacher Jessica Wehr said in an email to The Graham Star. “As I’m writing this, it’s hard to believe that we packed all that we did into two short and exhausting weeks.

“It’s a testament to how great our students are and how hard they worked. They also had great support from school staff Paige Gross, Sabrina Lane, Lorie Waldroup and Bryce Teesatesskie, who were all instrumental in ensuring that all the wheels turned smoothly and we were able to accomplish our ambitious goals.

“My family was also incredibly helpful in getting the mural finished; once camp was over, there was still weeks worth of work to do to finish it. My mom, sister and husband donated hours of their time to ensure that the mural painting got finished up.”

When the paint dried, Wehr was left with one major dilemma: How in the world would it be mounted at its current location?

A close examination of the mural will reveal the painting is stretched across multiple pieces of 4x8-feet plywood.

Hence, a call to another instructor was in order.

“Once the mural was finished, my hands were pretty tied,” Wehr said. “I had no idea how to get it hung. Fortunately, Rick Parham and his carpentry students – as well as the Graham County Schools maintenance department – came to the rescue. These folks had the whole thing prepped and hung in two days.

“I was amazed and so grateful for the skill they brought to the table. It was far beyond my abilities to get that done.”

The two-week camp was crammed full of topics. The geography, culture and art of the world’s continents changed each day, naturally beginning with a dive into Europe and what entails being a “Knight.”

Other activities included cooking, mat weaving, creating sculptures from clay, and several field trips to locations in Cherokee and Asheville.

“Everything about our summer art camp was truly a team effort,” Wehr said. “When it was all said and done, it was beautiful to see what is possible when you get a group of hard-working, dedicated people together to accomplish a common goal. We had fun, made cool stuff and learned a thing or two.”

Graham County Schools Superintendent Angie Knight wrote the grant that jumpstarted the project. The N.C. Department of Public Instruction funded what was known as a “Summer Bridge Academy.”

“The purpose of the funding was to offer high quality, evidence-based, in-person learning experiences to students who had been impacted by COVID-19,” Knight said.

“The program not only offered students an opportunity to recover lost instructional time, but gave them opportunities for enrichment to help them prepare for the upcoming year.”

Knight added that the property owner of the Village Shopping Center, Kaye Allison – as well as Allison’s family – all offered the side of the building as a location for the mural to be displayed.