Pappas Rehab Hospital unveils ‘Flight of Dreams’ mural

Lewis Bellows, a student at Pappas Rehab, with art teacher Ned Hall

Students and staff at the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children (PRHC) as well as members of the public gathered on Thursday, October 24, for the unveiling of the mural “Flight of Dreams.” The mural is the idea and product of art students at PRHC, who worked with teacher Ned Hall to create and design two large wings that are filled with different colored feathers. The wings provide a background for people to pose with and take selfies.

Hall wanted to add a colorful piece of art to Pappas and brought the idea to his students. One of those students is Lewis Bellows, who also spoke at the unveiling. “There are a lot of empty spots at Pappas, so they’re blank canvases,” Bellows said. “We chose the playground because it’s a public place that a lot of people can see. The public and people at Pappas can enjoy it.”

Hall said that the group wanted to bring some vibrancy to their campus. “The other element to that is we wanted to make sure it is accessible,” he added. “That was a big part of it.”

A group of 10 students from two art classes came together to suggest ideas for the project. “It was a year-long project [during] the 2023-24 school year,” Hall said. The classes at Pappas are small, and Hall decided to combine the two classes and call it the Public Art Committee. “The idea was to brainstorm as a group an idea for a mural on our campus.”

The students started by looking at murals throughout the Providence area in order to get some inspiration. Then one of the students shared a photo of himself in front of a selfie wall that was painted with wings in Nashville.

“Everybody kind of jumped on that idea,” Hall said. “[They] really thought that looked cool.”

“Ned eventually decided that having something with many parts to it would be good, because then each student could have a part in making it,” Bellows said.

Hall thought that the wings in the background would allow every student to be involved with the mural, either by helping with the design of the feathers or with the actual painting of the wall.

The students talked extensively about the design, especially the idea to create individual feathers. They started by using a template of a feather on which to draw their design. Hall then took the pieces of paper and put together a mock wing to get an idea of what the finished mural would look like.

The mural stands out, with a wingspan of 24 feet and a height of 10 feet. It is painted with acrylic paint.

“We’re making choices along the way of what kind of colors should we repeat, what sort of design would look good next to this,” Hall said. Each student decided how they wanted to engage with the medium, which included using paint and markers.

Hall also taught his students about the concept of having balance in the art that they created. The wings are not perfectly symmetrical, but there are two feathers in the top row of both wings that are orange and two near the bottom that are light blue with green lines.

Hall did most of the painting of the mural, along with the help of a few other teachers. “What I tried to do is capture the texture or the quality of the medium that they used in the prototype when I painted on the wall,” he said.

Once the weather was warm enough in the spring, Hall and a number of the students painted a white primer first. Some of the students used extensions to paint the top of the mural, while others painted the bottom sections. Some of the feathers have polka dots, and Hall added a sponge to the end of a stick so that students could add them to their feather. Others were able to paint their entire design on the feather, depending on its placement. The mural was finished in the summer.

“We made it low enough where you could be in a wheelchair and back up to it to see the wingspan coming out of your back, or you could be in a seated position,” Hall explained. “We’ll have a chair in front of it so you could sit in it and see the wings come out. That way it’s more universal. It could be for anyone.”

Bellows painted one of his feathers orange, yellow and red to resemble a lightning bolt. His second feather is blue and white, to which he added the Nordic symbols for hope. “I thought they looked cool,” he said. “To me, the mural has a feeling of hope to it. That’s why I decided to do that.”

Hall said that between 40 and 50 feathers fill the two wings. In addition to the feathers that the students created, some of the staff members took part also. The mural is under an overhang for protection from the elements, and Hall plans to add a weather-resistant coating of varnish to it.

At the unveiling ceremony, Bellows spoke about what he has accomplished at Pappas and also included his classmates in his words. Following his speech, two students on either side of the mural let the tarp that was covering it drop.

“One thing I’m hoping is that this is one of many projects that we’re going to do on campus,” Hall said. Two teachers assisted Hall and the students with the project, and he is hoping that the Public Art Committee will continue. Possible installation ideas for the campus include a sculpture or another mural.

The hope, said Bellows, is to “bring the arts out beyond just our classroom” and to create “something permanent.”

Working on the “Flight of Dreams” mural were Pappas students Dustin, Sydney, Billy, Lewis, Matthew, Julia, Alisha, Harrison, Erik and Jasper. Sydney passed away last year; some of the other students were discharged from Pappas and have moved into group homes. Those who have moved to another location were invited to the unveiling.

There is a small plaque on the wall to the side of the mural that bears the names of the students as well as a dedication. It reads: “This interactive mural symbolizes the creativity in all of us and how we can come together and create great things. Each feather was designed by a student at PRHC. We’d like to dedicate this mural to Sydney, who was as colorful and unique as each one of these feathers.”

Hall and Bellows encourage everyone to visit the public playground to enjoy the mural and take a selfie. For more information about public art at Pappas, contact Hall at Ned.Hall@mass.gov.

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