artist in residency mural project with Kristin Helberg
During the month of October, I worked with the entire fourth grade at Resurrection St. Paul to create a mural that honored the Sciences. The project was funded by the MD. State Arts Council and the school. Science is very important at the school where they have a STEM lab so students can conduct experiments and work on inventions.
I contacted several living scientists depicted on the mural and asked for a statement that I could read to the children at the unveiling. Alan Bean, the 4th man to walk on the moon in 1969 on the Apollo 12 mission responded. This is his inspiring statement:
Hello Kristin:
Talk about amazing! What a great project to inspire young (and older) minds.
Thanks for putting me near Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein.
I was fortunate to be the first artist with the opportunity to be in the center of the action to capture what I saw and felt, and bring it back to earth to share with generations to come. It is my dream that on the wings of my paintbrush many people will see what I saw and feel what I felt, walking on another world some 240,000 miles from my studio here on planet earth.
Our generation will be remembered for many achievements, and one of the greatest will be our movement off the earth, from its gravitational pull, to begin our future generations’ exploration of the universe. My paintings record the beginnings of a quest never to end, our journey out amongst the stars.
All the best wishes and congratulations,
Alan
Young artists at work