Art students from Northwest College were a little chilly as they began painting the American Legion Friday. But sharing their excitement about the opportunity to paint one of the most visible canvases in downtown Powell kept them warm and moving. It’s a big project — the largest off-campus project Anne Toner’s students have ever tackled. 

They’re transforming the exterior of the Legion’s Hughes Pittinger Post 26 into a mural. The artwork will feature a large American flag waving in the wind, the iconic Steamboat bucking bronco and rider and the armed forces the Post represents.

The mural’s design goes beyond the traditional military theme, said Monica Leahy, a Marine veteran and member of the post. 

“I think that this building needed to show that we include the community,” she said while watching the first paint being applied.

“The American Legion is not just for veterans. We honor our veterans for their service, but also, as veterans, we do it for our country, for our people and our communities,” said Leahy.

To get that point across, the planned mural will also include representations of families and community, she said. Leahy was part of a group of veterans and organizations, including city officials, who previewed and approved the plans through a series of meetings.

The idea to do the mural came from Augusta Larsen, a Powell High School graduate and current art student at the college. She received Legion scholarships to help pay for school and, while at the ceremony, members of the group asked if she was interested in the huge project.

“They were like, you should come do a mural for us,” she said. But she knew the project was too large for one person. “I was like, I don’t think I can.”

But after discussing the idea with Toner,  the assistant professor of foundations, painting and art history, the class decided to take up the project. 

“We’ve been doing murals around the college for about seven years now,” Toner said. “Most are in the art department design classroom, which we’ve painted several layers on over the years — and we’ve also done a couple in other areas around campus, including one recently in the intercultural offices inspired by travel and one in the Native Ways Club meeting room inspired by Native American ledger art,” she said.

About half the students in her color theory class are art majors and half are graphic design majors. 

“It’s been nice to have the design majors bring their skill strengths into planning the piece and the art majors into executing it, although everyone is working together on both aspects,” she said.

Art major Christina Herrera said the process has been fairly seamless, working with Post members to decide on a theme and then coming together as a class for a working design. 

“(The members) communicated what they wanted pretty well and we actually didn’t have to make a whole lot of changes from the original design that we did. It’s been a great experience,” she said.

Herrera represented the students in several organizational meetings. But there was one problem, she admitted. 

She said Post Commander Russell Stafford was “easy to work with,” but it was hard not to constantly play with his famously adorable dog, Major.

“That’s why Major isn’t here today,” Stafford said with a grin. “They’ve got to be productive.”

Stafford has been impressed with the group from the beginning. 

“It’s fantastic how Professor Toner and all these students came together and listened to the ideas we had and came up with a plan so fast,” he said.

The class has until May 10 to finish the project. If there is work left to do at the end of the semester, local students like Larsen will finish the work on their own time. And hopefully, when the project is finished, Major will come for an inspection and some play time.