It’s safe to say that the Dubs have all seen the plethora of artwork present around the school walls, from the melting city to the butterfly-surrounded skeleton. As a new addition to the school’s demonstrated artistic ability, IB art student Anna Rohn was recruited to paint a new mural in the atrium. 

Rohn was originally planning on painting the mural over a few weekends at either Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta or the Ronald McDonald House of Charities. When NAHS art teacher Allison Shepard overheard her plans, she considered how long it would take to receive approval for the mural and decided to involve Principal Douglass. Douglass agreed that the school could use new artistic additions and approached Rohn with the idea to paint a mural at school. “The idea for CHOA originally came to me since I wanted a colorful and whimsical painting for a healing environment,” she said. “I felt as if the imagination of fish with wings would work well for carrying in children and their families in times of need.”

The painting is coming close to being finished, but there is still work left to be done. The mural requires finishing up the top fish and cleaning up some of the edges to reach Rohn’s perfectionist standards. Contrary to her original prediction, the mural has taken a few months to complete, due to the large scale and need for multiple layers per color. Anna noted that the mural has taken her over 100 hours to finish since it’s hard to find time to paint during school. With her AP art class, there are always other projects that need to be done during school hours. “I had never painted such a large-scale painting before, so I didn’t initially expect it to take this long,” she said.

Rohn is already planning her next exciting project to continue once the school mural is completed. She has started making progress on a mural at the McDonald House of Charities Sandy Springs location, painting their popular golden retriever who visits both locations. By painting the beloved dog, she aims to create a symbol of hope through her artistic vision. “I am excited to use this experience to strengthen my palette and hopefully use this talent with my next project,” she said.

Thanks to Rohn’s hard work and dedication, the students of North Atlanta are now able to view her breathtaking mural while passing through the atrium. The painting has added a new sense of imagination and encouragement for the Dubs to inherit. Hopefully this new addition will encourage other students to make their artistic mark on the school to make North Atlanta a building filled with creativity and inspiration.