WOODBINE – The Woodbine Elementary School has unveiled a mural aimed at promoting a “Pathway to Peace” at the school and in the community.
The mural, which features a child’s face and a dove, surrounded by hearts, was the result of a $5,500 county Culture and Heritage Grant to the Coalition for Safe Communities.
Pastor Thomas Dawson of the SOAR Church in Woodbine said he had the idea to do a mural and thought the school would be a good home for it. He said the theme, “Pathway to Peace,” is intended to get the word out about living in a peaceful community and world.
Dawson said he met with the artist, Chantelle Rene, and along with representatives of the school district established a vision for the mural. He said Rene met with some of the schoolchildren and talked about being inspired by and enjoying the community.
“We want to see peace in the community,” Dawson said. “Hopefully this will make a positive impact on the school and the community.”
Rene, according to her Facebook page, was born in West Cape May and still lives in that borough. Her biography, as provided by the school district, identifies her as “an award-winning, New Jersey contemporary figurative painter and mural artist.”
She has exhibited nationally and internationally and has works held in private and public collections, her biography says.
Rene is a “self-taught artist,” what some describe as a “primitive artist,” meaning she is not formally trained. She embraced the “pandemic pause” to transition from a 20-plus-year career in digital marketing to full-time artist.
She was assisted in creating the mural by John Morris, an Atlantic City area artist.
The mural was completed in October and was unveiled on Nov. 26. School District Superintendent Adrienne Breitinger said the school’s 250 students will be able to see it on a daily basis.
There are three more panels outside the school gymnasium like the one that features the mural. Dawson, Breitinger and Cheryl Spaulding, from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Hope One program, said they could envision three more murals to complete the wall.
Along with the unveiling of the mural, the Coalition for Safe Communities held a coat drive that collected 130 coats for school-aged children. According to Dawson, 90 of those coats were donated on Nov. 26. Another 130 were collected earlier for a coat drive in Wildwood, and all were distributed. The Wildwood drive was held in cooperation with the Wildwood School District in partnership with Morey’s Piers.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
