OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Students at St. Cecilia Cathedral School have used the past few months to paint a Romero Brito style mural in their downstairs tunnel.
They were going to start the project last year but then the pandemic hit. When teachers knew they'd be face-to-face this year, they decided to get the project going.
"This is his style. He's got a really bright vibrant style which really fits well with kids. His style is colorful just like kids are and they're fun and bright and cheerful," said Christine Koehn, an art teacher at St. Cecilia. "I just chose images that represented our school, our community, our cathedral, our mascot, and the kids helped me decide what patterns we were going to put behind it."
Koehn said the kids had a great time painting the mural, especially in a time where they needed it most. In a time where everything was uncertain, the mural is a way to celebrate.
"In a time where we say, 'Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t shake hands, you can’t hug,' they got to do something they never get to do," Koehn said.
Koehn is excited for her students to look back on the mural and remember the fun memories they created while painting instead of the hard memories of the pandemic.
"I think it’s going to represent hope and determination and perseverance. The kids are going to come down here, especially our kindergarteners and first graders, and see their little signatures that they wrote in kindergarten and think, 'Gosh, remember when we had to wear masks in school and how hard that was? And all of a sudden we made it to May,' so I think it’ll show the strength of our community," Koehn said.
