At first glance, the vivid red and orange sunset hovering over peaceful hills on the wall outside the art room may appear to have nothing to do with literature at all, let alone Cain and Abel or a 600-page summer reading novel. On closer inspection, however, the mural celebrates John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” the fertile Salinas Valley, and the long tenure of former English teacher and current Head of Curriculum Laurie Eickmeier. 

   Steinbeck’s novel, which is a staple of the 11th grade literature curriculum, inspired Eickmeier’s proposal for the mural. Every year, juniors visit the John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas and have the opportunity to enjoy the scenery of the valley.

   “We did the part of the field trip where you go to the fields and harvest strawberries and look at the beauty of nature,” said art teacher Sasha Vu, who led the execution of the mural. “That kind of started the inspiration for the mural.”

   For the mural, Vu recruited four students who had experience in AP Art and Design at Pinewood: seniors James Chang, Bill Long, Marley Thornson, and Paul Sapilewski. Although Vu was closely involved in the process, the project was largely student-run in both its design and execution. 

   Chang created the original sketch of the mural and drew it on the wall, which was challenging because of the sheer size of the canvas. 

   “At times, I had to tape a chunk of graphite to a ruler to sketch out the upper sections of the mural,” Chang said. 

   Once the original sketch was complete, the students started painting. Most of the work was done on their days off, such as holidays or teacher development days. As the project neared completion, they used their free periods and office hours to add in smaller details. 

   Although the students shared the larger vision for the mural, they were able to infuse certain parts of it with their own style and personality. 

   “In the smaller parts of the painting, we got to show our own creative outputs in smaller ways,” Thornson said.

   The project was a venture into a new type of larger-scale painting for all four students, who were more accustomed to standard canvases. The original vision also changed over the course of painting the mural; after realizing that their pastel color palette looked dull on the wall, the team switched to the vibrant colors seen today. Additionally, each student had a slightly different idea of what a sunset was supposed to look like, resulting in there still being elements of the painting that each student wants to touch up. However, despite any hurdles, the team says they are proud of what they have created. 

   “I hope that it brings joy to the student body… and it brings a bit of brightness and light into their day,” Vu said.