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Miles of Mules
Check
out photos of the mule’s
progression!
Unami students
participated in the Miles of Mules community art project during
the 2002-03 school year. Unami’s student council raised funds used to
purchase the sculpture, and Unami artists put their time and creative
efforts into bringing it to life.
The
Miles of Mules project celebrates the visual arts and the history of
Eastern Pennsylvania and its once-extensive canal system. From June to
October 2003, 300 life-sized fiberglass mules are displayed in the
Lehigh Valley (including Bucks county). This project aims to educate on
the region's heritage and history, raise funds for local non-profit
organizations, and increase tourism and local commerce. The mule was
chosen as a symbol of the area's Industrial Revolution roots for their
critical part in our heritage. Before the advent of the train, mules
were a prominent sight as they pulled mine cars, moved canal boats on
the region’s canal system and helped families farm the land.
Students in Unami’s 3-D Design classes sketched out over a hundred
designs, and students representing all three grades voted on a final
design. Amy M’s design was overwhelming chosen for Unami’s mule. Other
student designs are incorporated in the “stripes” of her design. The
pictures inside of the stripes are all based on something relating to
Unami. Unami (like all of Central Bucks middle schools) is named after
a local Native American tribe, and a pattern inspired by Native American
designs fills a middle stripe. The Unami tribe was the "turtle tribe,"
so our mascots the turtle and the Unami Warrior are also used as
designs. There is a stripe containing images relating to academics,
another to sports. All of the students wanted to include an American
flag, which is there too. Our local heritage is shown in a stripe that
contains a covered bridge, the Mercer Museum, and Fonthill. Each week a
student is recognized at Unami as a "Unami Star," which led to the star
design on the mule's face. Our school colors of orange and black were
used as our color scheme. And last but not least, the negative space
around the stripes spells out "UNAMI" on both sides.
Most of the preparation and painting of the mule was done after school
or during resource periods by student artists under the guidance of
Mr. Kesilman, although some
students in art classes also helped out as well. Our mule was
shown at the Michner Art Museum for the opening of the exhibit and then
resided in Peddler’s Village by “Jenny’s” for the
summer of 2003. The Unami mule now has a
permanent home at Unami. Unami would like to thank and congratulate all the
artists who made this project such a success and to Unami’s student
council for raising the funds to get Unami involved.
Check out photos of the mule’s progression!
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