As Barlow welcomes Bruins to the new school year of 2025-2026, Barlow’s art teacher, Mrs. Gibson, decided to decorate the 300 hall with beautiful designs that students made from tape. Mrs. Gibson, who can be found in room 300, teaches Intro to Drawing, Drawing 1 and 2, and Sculpture 1 and 2. Mrs. Gibson has been teaching art at Barlow for 10 years and has been teaching art for 11 years. The unusual sight of the tape murals for underclassmen at Barlow has brought questions about whether they do this every year and if the 300 hall will continue to have new, welcoming, artsy walls in upcoming years.
When students are asked if they think the tape art positively affects the school, there is much variety in responses.“When I first noticed them, I thought they were cool, but I also really liked the art that Gibson used to hang in the hallways, and it might look out of place if she hung it over the tape,” says an anonymous student. Although some students saw the positive effects of the tape murals, other students miss the old art that hung in their place.. “I don’t think the tape positively affects the school because while it looks cool, and I’m sure it took a lot of time, it just looks
like tape,” says another anonymous student. So while most students look at it positively, some look at it like any other wall.
The question was brought up if students thought the tape mural art brings character to the school, and student Maddy Gustafson answered, “I think it brings some character, yes, but if it was painted on, then definitely more so, as I’ve liked the tape art on the walls.” Many of the students had the same type of answer. This exemplifies how students think the Barlow walls needed more character. Another student said, “Yes! It livens up the walls and is visually appealing.” This is another great example of how students enjoy the new lively halls and how they make students more comfortable at school.
We need more types of projects on the walls. Lily Deveny was asked if she thinks we should continue these types of projects on the walls in the future. She said, “I believe that yes, these projects should continue through the years. It’s important to see what our students are learning and what they are passionate about, and that doesn’t just mean sports.” Lily Deveny gives a great example of why these projects have a positive impact on our students and why they should be continued, and what students would like to see. When another student, Tatum Taylor, was asked the same question, she said, “I personally think that they should keep doing these because it makes the school more of a welcoming space in my opinion.” Many more of the students who were interviewed agreed with Tatum and Lily.
Barlow students have very contrasting opinions on the question of what they’d like to see. For example, one student says, “I would like to see what designs they are able to make.” There are many more answers like this, asking for this to be kept up, but also asking for more color and suggesting different designs in different halls. Some students are still asking for the walls to go back to the old art.“Bring back the paintings, it makes the wall look naked without them,” is one of many answers that were given. Many students feel as if the student art was nice to look at, and that the new mural was nice, but want a more permanent color.
Overall, students love the new tape murals, and they have brought up many great conversations. With the work still being student art and bringing a new pop of color and character to the school, students have had a great reaction to the decorative halls. Students who have agreed on it being very visually appealing, and even more if there were more color, bring together the fondness of the murals. Barlow students would love to see murals stay, but also having the old art up could be a new future project for Mrs. Gibson to think about. It’s safe to say the Barlow 300 halls’ art has been a hit this year.
