08/25/2026
✨ART IN FOCUS✨
🎨Murals to brighten up your day!🎨
Originally posted by Beth Murphy-Taylor about her daughter Cassie’s beautiful and cheerful murals at Gainfield Elementary School in Southbury. We have her permission to share this sweet post.
Cassie also does amazing pet portrait drawings! Thanks for sharing Beth and Cassie!
From Beth’s Post:
“Just wanted to share, to perhaps make people smile; and yes, maybe to gloat a little over my pride as a mom!
Last year, summer 2025, my daughter Cassie; a special education paraprofessional at GES, was asked to design/create a mural for the front of Gainfield Elementary School. She designed the mural, drew it out on the front of the building entrance (no projector, no AI…freehand) and had a team of staff volunteers to help! A cheerful piece of art to welcome students, staff and visitors to the school!
Fast forward to summer 2026. She was asked again to design another mural for the rear of the school. She spent so much time, putting her heart into both murals. Again she had half a dozen staff volunteers to help paint. I do not have permission to use their names or photos at this time.
The rear mural this year is much larger on scale! No projection, no AI, just freehand (Even Calvin the mascot was drawn freehand). Every day for the past few weeks she and her co-workers got up early and went to the school to complete the mural. I’m so incredibly proud of her. She loves to draw. She is very artistic. This was a joy for her and she was very honored to be asked to do both projects.
A few photos for your pleasure as the mural is now completed!
She was asked by someone “why do it, when the school will be torn down?”
Her answer was that it isn’t being torn down today - and if it brings smiles, a bit of light and joy to people while it’s there, then it’s worth it.
She truly loves working with the children, especially those on the spectrum. A job that isn’t for everyone. This mural has an “eye spy” incorporated into it for all of the kids! And it has a special little bit; a “silhouette” if you will, of a boy playing flag football…which is in honor of a young boy who was recently diagnosed with an illness.
I hope you all will smile reading this, that it brings joy…knowing that these paras, staff and teachers really care about the children of our community. And as a Mom, I’m so proud of my daughter. These Paraprofessionals sometimes are the forgotten ones; but they put the best of themselves into each day and each child! Well, I know mine does! Well done Cassie and the team of paras, teachers and staff that helped bring this to life!
And thank you to those who asked her to do this; for trusting her with such a wonderful task!
Enjoy!
First photo is last year in the front of the school! The rest are from this years mural in the back of the school!
And if anyone wants to see some of her pencil drawings of pets that she has done for folks, I’d be happy to share! Art is therapeutic, it’s interpretation, it’s skill, sometimes a natural ability - a quality I’m in awe of - not only for my daughter, but for all artists! Cheers!!!
Cross posted!”
