Finished at last!.......by Joyce Oroz

Our "ladies of the mural” crossed the library finish line last Saturday, in style—that is if you think baggy clothes smeared with paint is a cool fashion statement. After ten weeks, the clothes have become stiffer with layers of dribbled paint. Actually, the big shirts are more colorful than the mural. But the mural has more going on—like storybook characters riding in the clouds and children reading under an apricot tree near the river.

You may be wondering how this whole mural thing started. Linda Bjornson was approached by Hillary( Aromas' Librarian) who wondered if the Artisans could paint a mural at the Library. Than again, It may be that the mural idea originated with the Friends of the library. The Friends had parts of the building repainted to create a fresh surface for the mural. AHA put in a request to "Community Foundation of Monterey County" for a grant about that time and requested seed money to get started on the mural. We received financial assistance for community members as well. A big "Thanks" to the Library Mural Project supporters. Hillary helped Linda and Joyce select stories to be included in the clouds of the mural. Linda requested permission to use these stories from their publishers and was thrilled to receive permission. Several artists from Aromas Hills Artisans (Joyce, Linda, Sandra, Kathy, Nancy, Heather, Evelyn, Julia, John and Terry) worked for the last two months to complete our dream of making the Aromas Library a more inviting and colorful place.

On the Wetlands Mural, things are moving along. We estimate it will be finished before Santa arrives—that much we are sure of. Actually, one more month should do it. We are enjoying the high school students, Mercedes and Katianna, very much.