This is the bluebonnet painting for the large stall.
These last couple of weeks have been an extreme roller coaster with many ups and downs. From deciding what kind of material we’d make our baby blanket out of to now decfiding what kind of paint we will be using to redesign our school restroom. Our team struggled big time to find a project we truly felt passionate about; we had major issues in all being agreement with one idea. Until Ms. Miesner questioned us and brought up the wonderful idea of redesigning our school very unattractive restrooms. I find this very valuable because our team has lacked a sense of making decisions, we have just kind of “ehh’d” every decisions until now.
We recently just decided what our plan is; we decided to begin by redesigning the history hall restroom (next to Ms. Mathais) which will be known as the Ann Richards restroom. With that being said, we originally thought of just having Ann Richards quotes being displayed on the newly navy blue painted stalls. But we then questioned whether that’d actually make the restroom more appealing and how it would truly reperesent Ann Richards. We began brainstorming and looked up fun facts of Ann Richards to see if we found anything that could be used to create a visual image of her. Because Ann Richards was Texan we chose to represent that by drawing bluebonnets.
At first we thought that bluebonnets would be easy to draw, I mean who didn’t draw bluebonnets in elementary school? But little did we know that it would be so hard. We lost hope so we looked for instructions on how to draw a bluebonnet which were so useful. We looked up images on google and found various landscapes that were beautiful but we totally forgot to look up paintings instead, specially since we do not have a background in art. Our team sat down and discussed what we would be drawing. At this point we googled bluebonnet painting and found a single bluebonnet that we want to display on the small stalls and a double bluebonnet painting we want to display on the large stall with a butterfly in the corner. Lastly, inside each stall our chosen Ann Richards quotes will be displayed which will work well since it will allow the girls to read and truly reflect on the meaning and importance of the quotes we chose.
This is the single bluebonnet that will be displayed on the small stalls.
This is the bluebonnet painting for the large stall.
In order to make this happen our team will be making stencils by projecting the images on the wall and tracing them to cut out a stencil. We will then place the strencil over the restroom stall and paint it in. We are super excited because this is the most decisive our team has been and this is the most progress we’ve made. We hope to start painting next week and get our program going.
StarPathDesign 
This is a really cute idea, I cannot wait to see the finished product! I like how it seems so easy to free-hand a blue bonnet, but in reality there is so much more to it. I also really like how you all incorporated the Texas theme thing into it all, but maybe tie it all back to the school mission statement, I think that would top it all off. Great work ladies, I hope to see the progress happen in real life soon! – Erika C.
Georgia, I think your group’s idea to revamp our school’s bathrooms is phenomenal. Personally, I try and stay away from the bathrooms located near middle school classrooms (like the one next to Ms. Mathais’s room), because they are in such worse condition than the other bathrooms. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do, and I’m hopeful your group’s project will make the bathroom in the history hallway a little more bearable.
I love the idea of using bluebonnets to honor Ann Richards. Bluebonnets are tough plants: they can grow in soil with little nutrients, just like Ann Richards flourished in the male-dominated field of politics. Ann Richard’s pride and commitment to Texas is also reflected in bluebonnets, since they’re the state flower. The petals of bluebonnets match Ann Richards’s blue eyes as well. Have you thought about which quotes from Ann Richards you’re going to write in the stalls? There’s so many to choose from! My favorite is “The here and now is all we have, and if we play it right it’s all we’ll need.” The webpage http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ann_Richards/ has a good list of quotes.
Not only will your bluebonnet murals serve as a way to honor Ann Richards, but I also predict that they’ll brighten the days of student and teachers. My family has taken pictures in bluebonnet fields every year. Seeing bluebonnets when I enter a bathroom would remind me of my family and my childhood (and photos like this: https://drive.google.com/a/annrichardsstars.com/file/d/0B79xRRM6I3kDWks1dkJKY2xWVUE/view?usp=sharing), which would likely put me in a happier mood- and who doesn’t want to be happier? If you’re still looking for inspiration for painting your bluebonnets, it may be helpful to look at some bluebonnets up close in real life. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (http://www.wildflower.org/) and St. Edwards University (http://www.stedwards.edu/map/maincampus) both have lots of bluebonnets this time of year.
Drawing those bluebonnets will be no easy task, as Erika mentioned above. Don’t you hate how those wikiHow instruction pages make everything seem so simple, like to make a bluebonnet one just has to draw a stem and some “bumps” and then magically color it all in? Regardless, I believe you all are capable of creating a beautiful mural, and it’s good that you’ve already determined which paint colors you need, as Dayanne explained in her post (https://starpathdesign.com/2015/03/30/white-blue-and-black-take-over-dayanne-acosta/). I think your project is a great way to leave your mark on the school and I wish you all the best of luck!
-Erin Simons
I love the idea of your group re-designing our ugly restrooms here at Ann Richards. We may not use the restroom next year but I believe that the middle school would appreciate what you all are doing. Also, the idea of involving Ann Richards is great. It shows how appreciated we are with her for creating a school for us girls to attend and have a great future. The bluebonnet is a great symbol that your group is involving with the restroom. Last thing, your group is showing like I said the appreciation of Ann Richards and this gives our younger sister inspiration to show that in the future! Can’t wait to see the finish product!
-Nelly