The 12 students in the mural-arts class began studying the social and cultural impacts of public art in January.

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Students in an art class at City High School recently finished a 48-foot-wide mural that highlights the school's commitment to peace and its connection to the community.

This is the first year the charter school has had a mural-arts elective class, art teacher Leia Maahs said. Students and staff members at City High School, 48 E. Pennington St., held a dedication ceremony honoring the result of the class's effort — a 552-square-foot mural — last Thursday.

The 12 students in the mural-arts class began studying the social and cultural impacts of public art in January. They learned that an artist's intent could be misconstrued in public-art projects, which at times makes them controversial.

"We discussed issues of mural art, and art imagery demonstrating more than just what the artist illustrates," Maahs said.

Because the mural would be on display at the Downtown school, the artists wanted input from all students, said sophomore Cailin Holmes.

"We wanted people to definitely feel included in the project," Holmes said. "We were the ones painting it, but we didn't want to make it our exclusive project."

They distributed surveys to the 120 students who attend the charter school to find out what topics they thought should be addressed in the school's mural.

"We decided we wanted the diversity of the school to come across in the mural," Holmes said.

They painted a dove to represent the students' commitment to world peace and a pair of hands to illustrate their willingness to contribute to the community. The students also included their physical environment and featured images of Downtown Tucson and their school.

Other themes from the surveys stressed the importance of creativity and fantasy. One student even suggested including pink llamas in the art project, Holmes said.

At one point the mural breaks from the world of reality to the world of imagination, Maahs said. The students painted a dragon that leads into a satellite and then a robot.

"The whole portion is there to represent students reaching for their goals when facing the unknown," Maahs said.

City High School Principal Carrie Brennan said the finished mural exceeded her expectations and fits directly into the school's emphasis.

"That's the heart of the mission of this school: to be a community as a school, and be a part of the larger community," she said.

The students had to use their artistic skills along with their technical abilities to make the mural, Brennan said. They had to measure carefully and determine where each piece of artwork would go in addition to drawing and painting.

"It's very organic and yet very exact," Brennan said.

The wide variety of tasks required to finish the mural made it a universal project — even for students with little experience in the visual arts — Maahs said.

She had one student who helped organize the technical aspects of the mural and others who focused more on the artistic parts.

Even with the variety of jobs available, Holmes said some students were more committed than others, mainly because of the research and background work required to create the mural.

First the students learned about famous historical murals and some modern ones in California. Then they had to distribute the surveys and organize the results before they could begin painting the mural.

But once they began to paint on the wall of an alley in the school, most students' commitment to the project solidified.

While the students put in hours of work, Holmes gave most of the credit to her teacher, Maahs.

"She was just our guiding light. She taught us so much and really brought us together as a class," Holmes said.

Central