Hidden Oaks Middle School students unveil new mural in downtown Prior Lake

Several Hidden Oaks Middle School students and their art teacher on July 29 unveiled a mural they designed and painted on the side of a building in downtown Prior Lake.

According to the district, the city commissioned the project and Nuvera Communications Inc. donated space on its building on Colorado Street. The Prior Lake-Savage Education Association paid for art supplies while Highmark Builders paid for construction materials, such as the canvas and frame, plus the installation of the mural.

Under the direction of Hidden Oaks Middle School art teacher Julie Pyle, eighth-grade artists Abby Johnson, Inga Craig, Teagan Trice, Alex Huttner-Strot and Stasia Stanton created the mural, which depicts lake life in Prior Lake, along with the natural wildlife of the area.

"I've always loved art and my mom has always done art. One of my grandmas absolutely loves art, too, so I've been surrounded by artists my whole life," Craig said. "I'm really happy with the result. I was a little nervous about how well it would work, but overall I trusted Abby a lot and I knew all the people that were coming were amazing artists."

Trice said she and her fellow artists didn't know what kind of theme they would paint at first and the group eventually decided to showcase the lake — the heart of the community.

"We really didn't know what exactly to do," Trice said. "We had this whole map and grid already and we completely scratched it because the grid was the wrong kind. We freestyled it and we started just by drawing a line right down the middle. All of us took this as a really great opportunity. We were all excited about it."

City council members, PLSAS staff and residents all came out and attended the dedication ceremony.

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