Volunteers make Eastwood colorful place for children

by EVA GREENBERG

Kendal Publicity Plugs

Eastwood School has some beautiful murals. Painted in bright colors in different locations in the corridors are pictures of animals with the tenets of the International Baccalaureate program on them.

For example, there is a tiger that is reflective, penguins that are risk takers, and an elephant that is a thinker. The raccoons are inquirers and the dolphin is a communicator while the panda is balanced and the koala bears are caring.

Did the school system pay a lot of money for all this original artwork? The answer is no. Officials were lucky to find a talented mom who was willing to devote her time and energy to creating these beautiful murals.

Martha Ferrazza, whose children are now at Prospect and First Church preschool, had done some painting for Locke's Garden Center before she and her family moved to Oberlin in June, 2008. It was Janet Garrett, then the IB coordinator for Eastwood, who asked if she would make some street signs with names of the learner profiles on them.

Ferrazza, however, doesn't like straight lines, and thought instead of painting local animals holding up signs. That idea was further altered to include animals from other areas of the world.

Ferrazza, who is currently preparing a show for Arts Collinwood, a non-profit art gallery in Cleveland, of which she is a founding member, had help and support from others as well. Scott Knowles, a set designer, enlarged her sketches and cut the plywood; Sandy Wood, a graphic designer, did the lettering and varnish. She and Cheryl Lawrie, currently the Eastwood IB coordinator as well as a preschool teacher, organized parents and others to repair and refurbish the hallways.

All these creative projects truly make Eastwood a bright, cheerful, and welcoming place.