Some 20 aesthetically minded North Atlanta art students created an eye-catching mural located on the newly-renovated campus of Garden Hills Elementary School. The mural is titled “You Are What You Eat!”

The work of public art is located on an extended wall next to the school’s carpool lane and all told it takes up more than 300 feet of wall space. “You can’t miss it!” said junior Alex Ledbetter, one of the contributing artists.

The project was first proposed to Drawing and Painting II students of art teacher Natalie Brandhorst back in the fall. While the group first considered a Disney theme for the mural, they all ultimately opted for a more purposeful theme. “We wanted to reflect the atmosphere and environment of the school so we recreated an actual garden grown at the school,” said senior Carolyn Casadonte.

Work on the mural has lasted the entire school year and it was a long process of collaborating, designing and painting their vision into a glorious reality of enduring public art. The project included a substantial amount of drafting and preparation. “We had to get two drafts approved before the final proof,” said senior Nia Ballard.

There were long nights and countless hours of planning and painting. “Everybody worked on different parts of the mural so each day was different,” said Ledbetter.

Every artist had a role in working on the many aspects of the final product. One by one, the many intertwined features of the mural were crafted by each student. “My favorite part of this process was seeing all the people who get to enjoy the mural everyday,” said Ledbetter.

The mural is now a living reality enlivening the Garden Hills campus. It’s also an enduring gift given by motivated North Atlanta students to a sister feeder elementary school.