Plato Academy adds murals to the ‘curriculum’

Pinellas County’s newest murals aren’t painted on the outside of some whitewashed brick building in downtown St. Petersburg. Artists Derek Donnelly and Frankie “G” Gonzales, well-known creators of public art, have collaborated with students from Plato Academy for oversized murals on two of the charter school’s campuses.

The object of the project: To beautify. And to inspire.

Both the St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park campus murals feature bright underwater imagery. Plato students in grades 1 through 8 were invited to submit ideas, and their own drawings.

“I sifted through them and thought, ‘OK, which ones resonate with me that fit this aquatic theme?’” said Gonzales, the Tampa-based artist who worked at the St. Pete school. “A lot of it came from them. A kid drew an anchor, and that’s why there’s an anchor in the mural. There are stars that originated with something one of the kids drew.” Some of the marine creatures were suggested by the students.

Plato Academy St. Petersburg.

The Gonzales mural was painted in the middle school hallway. “First we talked about murals, and then the kids did sketches, from our little guys all the way up,” explained St. Pete principal Michelle West. “And then Frankie took all of the sketches, put their ideas together and created this in his beautiful, abstract art mind.”

Gonzales added certain images as a metaphor for education and learning: a pencil, a fishing hook, a bouquet of underwater flowers (to represent blooming minds), even the crown on the moray eel’s head, he painted them all as allusions to education and growth.

Since Plato is a Greek-founded school, where students take classes in the language, a gold divers’ helmet is a nod to Tarpon Springs’ Greek sponge-diving tradition.

Plato Academy Pinellas Park mural.

The are classical Greek columns in the mural Donnelly crafted for the lobby area of Plato’s Pinellas Park location. Along with a sea turtle, an octopus and other forms of marine life.

Donnelly is a resident of Pinellas Park, and the father of a 5-year-old son. So this mural had special meaning for him.

Derek Donnelly works with Plato Academy students on art ideas. Photo provided.

Earlier this year, he spent two days working with youngsters in Plato’s art classrooms, discussing their ideas and talking about their drawings and concepts for the mural.

“I love working with kids as much as I can,” he said. “It’s such a special thing because they’re so un-tainted by everything in the world yet. It was fun drawing and painting with them, and getting them to express themselves through art. Seeing how their little minds work is interesting.

“It’s kind of funny. You could see ‘Well, this kid’s going to be the accountant,’ or ‘This kid’s going to be the troublemaker.’ It’s cool to see those little personalities at that age, and what they might become, creatively or not.”

Pinellas Park principal Bob Pate praised Donnelly’s early “brainstorming” sessions with students. “It was essential to involve them, because learning is something that has to happen with students, not to them,” he said.

“This is their school, and this is going to be up on the walls for a long time. We had 1^st graders working with him, and they’re going to be at the school for many years. They’re going to have siblings there for many years.

“When those students are 8^th graders, they can look at that and be very proud. They can say, this is something we created together.”

Plato Academy has a total of seven locations in Pinellas County. Chief of Schools Amy Hayes said she hoped the mural program could be expanded to include other campuses.