Penn Station contacted the The SHS National Arts Honors Society (NAHS) this summer in regards to painting a mural for their newly renovated restaurant. They said they hoped to connect with the community and display the progression of their company through logos. NAHS is responsible for a plethora of volunteer work around the community like art auctions, face painting at Roxbury’s Fall Festivals and crafting with the kids at Solon’s Fall Festival, so when presented with the opportunity to paint a mural for Penn Station they said they were more than happy to do so.
Jennifer Thompson is the SHS art teacher, Intrinsic Art Club advisor and NAHS sponsor. When contacted about the project, Thompson first took pictures of where it would go and coordinated the vision for the design with Penn Station.
“We talked about how they wanted to connect all the logos through a heartbeat line, going through the history [of Penn Station] and the Solon community,” Thompson said.
Senior and NAHS member, Olivia Liu, took the first step of this project by making the rough draft which was then transferred to the Penn Station wall, starting with chalk.
“[She] digitally organized the logos and how it would look,” Thompson said.
Penn Station began as a bakery in 1983 named “Jeffery’s Delicatessen” in Dayton, Ohio. They told NAHS that they wanted the mural to represent their growth as a company, as well as their love for the Solon community.
“We painted the way their logo and them as a company changed throughout the years,” said senior and NAHS member Jiya Rai. “We incorporated the [Solon] gazebo, there was a non-profit [for down syndrome] that they were associated with and other parts of Solon and Ohio we incorporated into the design.”
Penn Station also made sure to care for NAHS while they were there.
“[Penn Station] was so sweet, they even fed us when we were there,” Thompson said. “We were right there when they opened, which was around 8 am, and painted until around 2-3 pm.”
Members of NAHS said they especially enjoyed the process of making the mural and how, even through the challenges, it brought them together.
“We had to trust each other a lot because some of the ladders were not the most stable,” said senior and NAHS member Mandi Lu. “We were all grabbing onto the ladders and cheering people on as they climbed high. It was fun.”
NAHS said they are looking forward to taking part in more volunteer work throughout the community, and they have another mural in the works.
“We were asked to do something for the preschool, so we designed something but got too busy in the summer,” Thompson said. “We are looking to finish that off.”
Each year members of NAHS are required to complete 30 hours of volunteer work, so working together and being presented with opportunities and projects that allow them to share their gifts with the community is nothing new to them.
“As artists, a lot of our time is spent in our studio or in the classroom,” Rai said. “But I think it’s also very important to share that passion with the community, whether it’s through murals like these, or doing events with the community. I think it’s very important to share that passion with others.”
