Driving up Main Street in Noel before you get to the railroad crossing, a bright rainbow-colored mural reaches out and grabs your eyes.
The mural is the latest project of Art Feeds, a Joplin-based nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by 19-year-old Meg Bourne Hulsey.
While volunteering in a behavioral disorder classroom, Hulsey was affected in particular by one small boy who was not being fed at home, which was also affecting his life at school.
After seeing the joy art brought to his life, she decided to create "an organization dedicated to mobilizing creative healing and encouraging creative development in children."
Impressed by the effect that art had on his behavior and mood, Hulsey said she "saw that art was feeding him in a way that was just as essential as food, but art was feeding him and every other student in that class in a different way."
She wanted to spread the joy art brought that boy to all children, and so Art Feeds was born.
It was McDonald County High School students Jacky Lopez and Jasmine Rios who got the ball rolling for Art Feeds project in Noel.
Lopez and Rios teamed up together as part of a project for an English class at MCHS taught by Gabrielle Heth.
"I did my project on art and Jasmine thought about doing a mural," Lopez said. "This was Jamine's idea and Ms. Heth asked me to help her out. Mr. Wilkie (assistant principal) was the one who told us about Art Feeds."
"I chose to do a mural to strengthen our community," Rios said. "Art Feeds was wanting to do a mural, so it kind of worked out."
The finished project was done after a four-week curriculum for art students at Noel Primary and Elementary. The theme chosen for the mural was "culture and diversity." Students used this theme to create artwork which was then scanned, and a finished mural was designed by Matt McMullen, a senior at Joplin High School.
The mural is now displayed on the side of an old brick building owned by the Anna Harmon family.
An unveiling ceremony planned for May 16 was moved inside at Noel Elementary School due to rain. A smaller version of the mural was unveiled to the "oohs and aahs" of the students.
"You guys are the stars today," Bourne said. "Today is all about you. I looked at every single piece of your artwork and thought, 'Man, you guys are creative.' We think your ideas and artwork are so valuable that the whole community should see it."
Included as part of the mural is a large red heart, centered on a globe of the continents that is surrounded by flags of several countries from around the world. A rainbow and the school district's mission statement, "Every child, every day, whatever it takes," are also included.
"This is our 24th mural to install, so we have worked with a lot of school districts," Hulsey said. "McDonald County, without a doubt, cares more about their students, more than any other school district."
Community on 05/26/2016