Story Created:
May 27, 2010 at 3:53 PM CDT
Story Updated:
May 27, 2010 at 4:28 PM CDT
(Reeds Spring, MO) -- "Most kids, they're all like, 'I want to be outside. I don't want to be in here doing work.' So, it's kind of like blended them together," says Erica Kuyper, of her most recent mural in the hallway at Reeds Spring Middle School.
It's not often you get to see art in the making...
"The background here's gonna be this horizon, a piece of paper, and the sunset's going to be a protractor," explains Kuyper.
...or take a peek into the creative process...
"I'll think of a few objects and I'll think, 'how can I twist these together to be something different and still be different objects,'" says Kuyper.
...if Kuyper has her way, Reeds Spring (MO) will have a constant show.
"I asked Mrs A, 'Hey, I'm kind of bored, can I paint something on your wall?' And she said sure," says Kuyper.
She spends 3 days a week hanging out at school, after school. She paints as a pass time.
"I don't do sports. I don't do choir anymore, and, so, it's something to do, and then, also, I feel appreciated by doing it," says Kuyper.
It keeps her out of trouble, even though she is drawing on the walls. It's something she used to do at home.
"Me and my dad would draw all over the place, all over my room, in our hallway, in the kitchen. There were drawings everywhere," says Kuyper.
Now, she's making a name for herself with her brush strokes. She's painted one mural Skaggs hospital, in Branson West (MO). Now, she's working on three murals at the middle school, and one at a local pizzeria.
"I'm kind of excited to get that one done, because I think a lot of kids will like it," says Kuyper of her math mural.
It's a big canvas for a dreamer to put down her thoughts, and leave them behind for the community to enjoy for generations.
"Art's the best thing i could do with my life," says Kuyper.
After high school, she's planning to go to school for art, and wants to make her living as an artist.
Contact: dmagditch@kspr.com
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