Over the summer, a group of students and their art teacher have been working to bring a little public art to Cottonwood.

Motorists and pedestrians moving along South Main Street have likely seen their efforts in the form of a woman’s face painted on the side of a local laundry.

It’s not vandalism or graffiti. In fact, it’s far from it.

“[The laundry] actually contacted us and asked if we were interested in a mural project,” said Tyler Novak, director of arts and humanities at Mingus Union High School.

The concept behind the mural is “Where Do We Go From Here,” an idea that Novak said his students came up with.

Novak describes the students, along with one former student, working on the project as a “core group” that’s been involved with the project from the very beginning.

They drew up some sketches imagining what the finished piece would look like and had them approved by the business.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Sept. 5, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.