Many have seen the fantastic mural in the English wing, but not many know what it’s exactly for.

Mrs. Stephanie DiGiacopo, the art teacher in charge of this project, explained that the mural was an idea pitched to her by PV Principal Mr. Tom DeMaio who saw a similar one in a high school he toured late last year. He gave the team a collection of titles (which was expanded by the team’s own choices), and they instantly searched for interesting designs of covers and spines of those books.

Many were picked because of the color scheme or because the cover was a common image associated with the novel.

The team includes PV students Nick Metz, Taylor Bender, Julie Martin-Moons, Hannah Wrede, and Lauren Kraus, all who signed up for the task due to it being a part of a Pascack Period course. They have mostly worked on this during Pascack Period, though they did take one in-school field trip day to work on it. They estimate that the mural will be completed by the end of the year.

These are among a few of the titles completed so far.

Many of these titles are completed in three Pascack Periods, though that is a rough estimate since all the artists work at different paces. Bender has completed “Hamlet”, “The Great Gatsby”, and is currently working on “The Giving Tree.”   

Kraus has done the infamous “Frankenstein” and “The Scarlet Letter.” Senior Jenny Peshansky has painted “Beloved” and “Oedipus,” the famous Grecian work. Metz completed Gardner’s “Art Through the Ages,” an art history textbook that was chosen by the students, alongside of “Catcher in the Rye.”

Junior Charlotte Atkinson has completed “The Lord of the Flies” alongside of the heartbreaking work “The Kite Runner.” Martin-Moons has completed “Man of La Mancha” and is currently working on “Brave New World.”  

Senior Taylor Bender works on one of the titles, “The Giving Tree.”

Bender has been drawing for many years, taking lessons since first grade and also teaching herself certain skills. She draws both digitally and traditionally and was able to do the orbs that hang outside the art room. She has been working on the mural since the year started, and is excited to see it finished.

Peshansky removes some of the tape from the mural that is used to make more defined lines for the books.

 The tape is used to make the edges of the books straight. The artist paints over it and after it’s removed, the lines haven’t blended into each other, making the picture clear and crisp.

One of the yet to be completed titles is “Brave New World.”

Atkison works on one of the titles, “The Kite Runner”, alongside of Bender and Metz.

Metz works on one of the student chosen titles. Bender works on a different title, “The Giving Tree.”

Metz is using the laptop for reference photos, which help artists with a project like this in order to see the spines that need to go on the mural.

It is “not easy, especially since it’s on lockers, so you have lines and all sorts of things that get in the way of the paint, but overall it’s a fun experience,” Metz said.

Lauren Kraus completes “Brave New World.”

DiCiacopo gathers materials for the team.

Peshansky and DiCiacopo set up the projector that some of the students use to help paint the decided image.

Martin-Moons works on “Brave New World.”