Recently the Marlboro School Board drew attention to two murals that were done at the middle school last fall.

Art teacher Megan Albright said several years ago students at the high school collaborated with local mural artist Joseph Pimentel to create a work in the lobby, and last fall it was the Middle School’s turn.

“Our principal Debra Clinton was interested in doing a collaboration with him here,” she said. “He came in and worked with our Art Club students and we had the idea to make the mural around the ideas of belonging and community.”

Albright said the students sketched out a few ideas and over the course of a week painted a mural outside the main office and another on the wall directly across from it. Albright, fellow art teacher Marc Eckert and Pimentel assisted in the effort.

“We went through a lot of different versions. Joe came up with something first and then we told him what we’d like changed, so it was a really great collaboration between the kids and the local artist,” she said.

Albright said Pimentel drew the initial lines of the murals and she and the students filled it all in with vibrant colors, using acrylic paint, “because it dries quickly and is sustainable to last for a long period of time.” Pimentel made a few final adjustments after the paint was applied. She called him the ‘driving force’ during the week, noting that he stayed every night until 6 p.m.

Albright said the two murals, “came out really wonderfully and we’re happy with the final versions...I have really high expectations for my students, and they delivered. We work really hard to create a culture where art is important, and the students who participated are incredibly talented and we’re super proud of them on a daily basis. What I see in my art room is very high quality stuff, so I’m not surprised that it turned out really well.”

Middle School Assistant Principal Demian Stanmyer said they waited a few years for the project to come to the middle school, in part because of the new construction that was taking place in the building and also due to the constraints of the pandemic.

“Once the space was available, the project made the area more vibrant, more interesting and more engaging. Our stress here is a sense of belonging and our students were involved every step of the way,” he said. “It was kind of important to liven things up, bring a little more excitement and a little more brightness to the area. We’re very happy with how it turned out.”

Joseph Pimentel, a 2005 graduate of the Parsons School of Design with a degree in Fine Art Illustration, initially freelanced for several clothing companies, worked as a Graphic Designer at a print shop and a lighting fixture company along with doing a wide variety of odd jobs.

On his website, Pimentel said a whole new world opened up to him once he began to focus on painting murals, resulting in him establishing ‘Pimentel Murals.’

To date, Pimentel has completed more than 100 murals, “with a wide range of themes and various degrees of involvement from students from the first through the twelfth grade. I look forward to continuing on this path working with students, exploring the power of imagination and helping young artists feel inspired by working together to make amazing projects come to life.”