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Colorful new mural surprises students and staff
on their return for the new school year |
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September 13, 2018 |
Bonners Ferry High School students and staff
received quite a surprise when they started the
2018-2019 school year on Tuesday, September 4.
Walking through the gymnasium doors, they were
greeted by the bright colors of a roughly 12 by
100 foot mural depicting the lush landscape our
county is known for, along with the beloved
badger mascot. “One can’t walk into the gym now
without feeling a burst of hometown pride and
school spirit,” said a BFHS student. “I love how
colorful it is and that it shows the beauty of
Bonners Ferry, with the water and mountains. It
is so us.”
[For a larger view of this photograph,
click on this photo]
Mr. Josh Knaggs, an art teacher at Bonners Ferry
High School, was approached by a student last
year, who showed him a picture of a mural
painted in the St. Maries gym and asked, “Why
don’t we have something like that here?”
Mr. Knaggs made inquiries of Kevin Dinning, the
high school principal, who loved the idea of
adding a spirit-based mural to the school. With
that encouragement, Mr. Knaggs immediately
started designing, and through discussions with
his wife, Sara Knaggs, who is a teacher at
Boundary County Middle School, came to the
conclusion that “it should be a representation
of our unique environment here in North Idaho,
as well as a rally for Badgers of all ages.”
The design for the school spirit elements came
easily to Knaggs and seemed straightforward
enough, but feeling motivated in his own words,
“to capture the awesomeness that is the
Panhandle,” he decided to truly make it a
representation of our area, painting some of the
most prominent ranges of our landscape into the
mural, namely, the Purcells and Clifty.
The mural covers the back wall of the gym, where
the long hallway to the locker rooms are
located, and will undoubtedly add to the drama
and excitement when the band starts beating and
the Badger teams run onto the court in a streak
of blue and white.
For a larger view of the next two
photographs, click on the photos]
Painting a mural of this size is no small task,
but inspiration to begin such a labor-intensive
project came from many places. First and
foremost, from Knaggs’ students. This will be
Mr. Knaggs’ 11th year teaching art at BFHS, and
Ms. Knaggs will be starting her 5th year
teaching math at the middle school.
It is obvious when looking at the mural, where
other inspiration came from. The sweeping valley
sheltered amidst the mountains, the waterfalls,
river, and wildlife all painted into the mural
reveal a sense of appreciation for this region
and community, as well as the Knaggs’ love of
nature, and their profession. “I guess we were
inspired by opportunity in general,” said Mr.
Knaggs. “It's not every day a married couple
gets to art on this level, let alone in this
style, or even in an institution like school.
Pretty awesome chance to have some creative
fun!”
Never have the Knaggs tackled a mural or project
of this size before. The Badger was projected on
the wall, and traced, but everything outside of
that was painted, drawn, rolled, or sprayed free
hand. From start to finish, they spent five full
days completing the project, and some hours on a
sixth day fine tuning and signing the mural:
Knaggs Squared, a fun nod to their relationship
and Mrs. Knaggs’ profession, can be found
“carved” on one of the stumps at the bottom of
the wall, a fitting signature considering they
completed the project on their one year marriage
anniversary.
Mr. and Mrs. Knaggs did all the designing,
taping, and painting alone, but received some
serious set-up help and supplies from the
custodial team, headed by Daryl Chapman. In all,
it took about 40 hours of prep and production,
with an equal amount of time spent designing.
“They are remarkable teachers,” said principal
Kevin Dinning of the Knaggs. “To spend personal
time in the summer to benefit the students,
shows just how invested our staff members are in
our school and community.”
As anyone who has ever completed a massive
project can imagine, not all of those hours
passed smoothly by. Early on in the painting,
Mr. Knaggs was testing out a new product, a huge
can of high pressure spray paint that he thought
would cover most of the wall and provide the sky
color. After spraying only a fraction of the
planned area, the paint ran out, and a rant of
frustration was quickly followed by a tripped
fire alarm and an evacuation of summer school.
It may be of some interest for Mr. Knaggs’ art
students to know that his wife captured all of
his displeasure and scrambling on video.
Despite the setbacks, the Knaggs’ pressed on,
and in a suiting way, the mishap and subsequent
success echoed Mr. Knaggs’ own thoughts about
what he hopes the mural represents about our
community, high school, and students.
“The mountains are so symbolic of our culture,
both in the Panhandle and the school setting. I
like to think that the mountains are
representative of the subsequent valleys, the
highs and lows of life, of home, of the struggle
and the success. We are mountain
people—strong-willed, fun loving, adventurous,
in touch with the land around us. The mountains
look at the valley and protect it, knowing the
sun is on the horizon even when the valley can't
see it. There is an undeniable security and
opportunity for prosperity in the mountains of
North Idaho.”
When asked what contribution he thought the
mural made to the community, Knaggs replied, “I
hope it offers a sense of pride in our space,
and how seizing opportunity, even when you are
unsure, can produce satisfactory results. It has
been my goal since I came to Bonners Ferry High
School to make art a powerful academic agent. It
helps with confidence, and the ability to try
something and fail. It is paramount to try in
order to do. I hope that students and adults
alike recognize our efforts, as well as the
efforts of others. There are many people that
put in many hours to help others in our
community.”
On that note, Mr. and Mrs. Knaggs wanted to make
sure the efforts of those who helped them
complete this amazing project for our school and
students were recognized and thanked: Principal
Kevin Dinning for making the project possible,
Daryl Chapman, head custodian, for all the
set-up help and for providing supplies, and Gary
Pflueger, Boundary County School District 101
Superintendent, who has an eye for art and an
appreciation for the creative sector of
education.
“I think the mural is amazing," said Principal
Dinning. "It captures what Boundary County is
all about, and incorporates so much of our
community into it. Everybody has got a little
bit of their own. Even Black Mountain lookout
tower is in it. The mural takes away from the
institutional aspect of the gym and makes it our
own. We want something for our students to be
excited about. It’s a new face lift. Many of the
students were surprised, and I have only heard
good feedback.”
It sounds as if there are many future projects
planned to make the school more personal and
welcoming, as well as giving students an
opportunity to get creative with art. Project
Paint the School is an idea adopted by Mr.
Knaggs wherein his advanced art students paint
doorways of the classrooms to represent the
subjects taught in them. For example, the
entrances to English classrooms are decorated
with books and novels, science classrooms with
beakers and atoms. It gives a visual feel to
what is being taught instead of just a name on
the door.
Many other low cost, high impact endeavors are
being discussed, including plans to set up a new
sign in front of the school with Bonners Ferry
High School’s name on the front and the back to
serve as a blank canvas for art students. There
is also some discussion of painting parking
spaces.
In addition to the new mural in the gym, they
plan to get some labeling up that is directional
and will not only welcome people to the gym but
help them know where to sit. Mr. Knaggs
mentioned possible future murals consisting of a
visitor’s section and student section.
Mr. Dinning is excited to get people in the gym
and show the mural off, so if you haven’t been
to a game or event at the school in some time,
pull on that blue and white hoodie, come join
the crowd and band, and let your school spirit
shine while you sing the Badger fight song. And
don’t worry about missing the view, BFHS has a
great one inside now, too.
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