Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Fourth-grader Ali Emmons and first-grader Andrew Hill, both of Hillbrook School, strike a pose in front of Ali's art for the Forbes Mill Footbridge Youth Mural.

Exhibit features mural preview

By Anne Gelhaus

Anticipating the need for more community fundraising in the near future, the committee in charge of the Forbes Mill Footbridge Young People's Mural Project has put on display some of the completed mural designs.

At a series of workshops about both art and local history, Los Gatos elementary school students painted and drew designs for 34 of the 156 panels that will make up the mural. These designs are on exhibit in the Town Council chambers.

The workshops, which began last September and ran for several months, attracted 70 students interested in designing a mural depicting the town's history and painting it on the footbridge, which crosses Los Gatos Creek between the Old Town shopping center and Los Gatos High School. In recent years, the footbridge has been a target for vandalism and graffiti; the mural project was developed to revitalize the structure.

While the designs on display in the council chambers depict mostly local flora and fauna, project co-chairwoman Carol Taylor said that many of the other 26 designs in the works are being done by high school students and will focus on historic figures and buildings.

"Younger children are more interested in what they immediately respond to," Taylor added. "It's difficult to get them interested in history, and in that age group, it's difficult for them to draw people."

After the exhibit in the council chambers, Taylor said, the committee will regroup to figure out how many more panel designs and donations of money or materials are needed.

"The show is to generate enthusiasm," Taylor said, adding that the committee has two grant applications pending.

"If we don't get that money," Taylor said, "we'll have to go back on the fundraising trail."

So far, community support of the mural has been strong: Local grocery stores and restaurants supplied materials and food for the workshops, and Old Town owners Deke Hunter and Ed Storm have pledged $2,500 toward the project. T.K. Construction has donated labor to prep the footbridge for painting.

The mural designs will be displayed in the council chambers at 110 E. Main Street through March 28. An artists' reception is set for March 15, 6-8 p.m. The exhibit is sponsored by Councilmember Joanne Benjamin and attorney Roger Poyner.