Ariah Schmidt poses next to her almost complete mural “Rubixcube” mural. The Hutchinson 16-year-old began working on the painting in June.
Ariah Schmidt poses next to her almost complete mural “Rubixcube” mural. The Hutchinson 16-year-old began working on the painting in June.
Ariah Schmidt mural almost done
Ariah Schmidt works on her mural “Rubixcube.” The mural was free-handed using chalk after the projector she planned to use failed to display the outline correctly.
Working with the city of Hutchinson is quite an accomplishment, especially when it is done before graduating from high school.
Ariah Schmidt did just that when she took on painting one of the murals featured in the pARTicipate Hutchinson project. The painting, “Rubixcube,” is on display for all to see on the wall at Hager Jewelry, 138 Main St. S.
Schmidt learned about the pARTicipate Hutchinson mural art project from her mother, and while initially hesitant, she pushed past her comfort zone and submitted an entry.
“I’m usually very shy,” Schmidt said. “I don’t even like to talk about what I draw or post it online. But my mom told me to give it a thought, and I figured, ‘Why not attempt to break out of my shell?’ So I went to the class they did about painting murals. I learned a lot and submitted two designs — one I had made specifically for the project and another I had done a year ago.”
The pARTicipate Hutchinson mural project is a way to add some positive, symbolic art around the city that would exemplify the Hutchinson community, said Mary Hodson, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.
More than 50 designs were submitted by artists, but with limited space and funds, only 14 could be chosen. The Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, with the help of Beth Gasser, an interior mural artist, narrowed the entries to 20 based on those that fit the theme. From there, the 14 building owners on whose walls the art would be painted weighed in on which ones they liked.
Schmidt got into art when she was 8 or 9 years old.
“I’ve always really liked art and drawing and how people can just do it,” Schmidt said. “So I grabbed a ‘how to draw’ book and headed to my grandma’s house, and I was like, ‘Grandma, how do you draw a dragon?’ She didn’t know, but she showed me how to follow the book.”
Schmidt said she draws a lot of inspiration from her traveling with her family.
“We’ve been to places like Tennessee, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and the Colorado mountains,” she said. “Just these really serene places with cool wildlife. I remember those places whenever I draw mountains or animals. I like drawing animals a lot, and I find it to be therapeutic doing all the layers.”
From learning to draw from a book to now painting a mural, Schmidt has come a long way.
“I’ve never painted a mural before,” Schmidt said. “I do a lot of drawing, realism, pastels, and watercolors because I find it relaxing. I find that stuff fun, and I enjoy how free flowing it is. The mural has been a very different experience.
“The paint had a different feel,” she continued. “And because I couldn’t get the projector to work I had to do the outline in chalk. It turned out surprisingly well, considering I free-handed it.”
Schmidt said she learned a lot from this experience.
“It’s a good way to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to push myself a little more and I’ve learned I can do it. Even though things might not work out completely. I can still do this.
“One thing I want to pass along is if anyone wants to get into art to just go for it,” she said. “You don’t have to do things a certain way — you can do what you want and learn other (techniques) along the way. All you have to do is buckle down and just say OK, I’m going to be mad for a few hours, but we’re going to understand this.”
With cannabis now legal in Minnesota, Hutchinson City Council is faced with the task of how, and if, to regulate it.
City Administrator Matt Jaunich reminded the council during its July 25 meeting the new law allows public smoking, and urged members to consider creating regulations.
“It’s going to come down to as policy makers, what do you want?” Jaunich said. “How many do you want to see? How many do you want in your city? How many establishments? Where do they go and where can people smoke in public? Those are for the most part really the only three things that you guys (City Council) have a say in. I guess the fourth would be is if we’re going to want to get into the business of it at some point.”
The new law, which went into effect on Aug. 1, makes Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize the use of recreational cannabis and the fourth state to allow public smoking.
Hutchinson does not regulate tobacco use in public, except for the restriction of no-smoking 15 feet from an entrance.
“We have an option of doing a moratorium … I think we’ll just have to look at our zoning code,” Jaunich said.
Council member Pat May thought the city should at least publicize what the city’s code is, so residents could be better informed.
Mayor Gary Forcier asked Police Chief Tom Gifferson if and how police can test for driving under the influence of cannabis.
Gifferson noted that there are no specific laws or test that can lead to an arrest based solely on cannabis use.
“As part of our standardized field sobriety testing that we already provide, there is a section on drug impairment and there are some physical tests that can be run, but it’s only giving you a few minor indicators. It’s not an absolute type of thing,” he said.
City officials are closely monitoring how other cities are responding to the legalization. Some municipalities have started implementing regulations on public smoking to address potential challenges.
“Do we want to regulate this and to what level? We can put limits on the amount of establishments, we can put regulations and zoning, we could put regulations on where in public (people) can smoke,” Jaunich said.
Kaitlin May
Kaitlin May’s family receives the $10,000 scholarship check during the Day to REACH recognition program July 28.
Kaitlin May left a lasting impact on everyone she encountered.
Her father, Mike McGraw, described her as a rule follower who earned a degree in history from Notre Dame but always had a passion for teaching.
“She always wanted to teach,” he said.
May died May 5. She was a special education teacher at West Elementary School for kindergarteners and first-graders.
On July 28 her family received a $10,000 donation from the Day to REACH camp that they will use to support future educators in her name.
Her father remembered being surprised by May’s teacher personality.
“I thought I knew everything about her until one of the first times I saw her interact with one of her students,” he said. “And she got down on one knee and spoke to her student, and she used a different voice, one I had never heard before. And when she was done talking with that student, I said, ‘Kaitlin, I didn’t know you had that in you.’”
May’s competitive nature was what had stood out to her father.
“She was a very, very competitive person,” he said. “The Mays were amazed. They didn’t think she was (competitive) because she wouldn’t play games and different things with them, and so forth. And I said, ‘that’s because she’s too competitive, she won’t compete unless she can win.’”
Despite her competitive spirit, May also was known for her caring and nurturing personality.
“She was very caring. She had that sight in her; she’d give her shirt off her back,” McGraw said. “I don’t know how many of her former students came and talked to us. Now they couldn’t always say what they wanted to, but their parents spoke on their behalf, but the student was there to give us a hug or a smile.”
Reflecting on his late wife’s passion for education, Michael May said, “She just loved being there. She loved doing what she did, and that was helping kids who needed it and trying to be a bigger advocate for them as they needed.”
May’s admirers extended far beyond her family, to the community, some of which was demonstrated during the Day to REACH recognition and scholarship.
“It was also like another sign of how much support we’ve felt from the community,” Michael May said. “The gym was packed. And I know they weren’t all there for us. But there’s a big portion of educators that were, and you know, that made us all feel we felt the love.”
Her legacy lives on through the love and support she provided to her family, her students, and the community, Michael May said. Her caring and competitive spirit will continue to inspire and make a difference — through her memory and the scholarship — in the lives of others for years to come.
