By CHRISTIE BLECK

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — Some Marquette Alternative High School students have left their mark — or at least their signatures — at the Marquette Maritime Museum.

Through a grant from the Community Foundation of Marquette County, several MAHS art students painted an acrylic mural measuring 8 feet by 8 feet of the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, with the view of the iconic local landmark coming from McCarty’s Cove.

MAHS art teacher Joy Bender Hadley and Hilary Billman, museum director, had students Kayla Herron, Abigayle Johnson, Whitney Rudden and Angel Benavides paint the mural for the museum’s Children’s Corner.

Billman said two large pieces of masonite were sent to the MAHS for them to use for the mural, which has a prominent place in the Children’s Corner.

The students, who worked on the mural for about four weeks, were invited to the museum Friday.

“I just wanted them to come in and see what it looked like up here,” said Billman, who added the four students would receive year-long complimentary museum memberships.

“It was kind of a last minute project we were given,” said Rudden, who just graduated from MAHS.

She enjoys art, but doesn’t plan to make a career of it. Still, the mural undoubtedly will catch people’s eyes, what with the bright red lighthouse and vivid blue Lake Superior depicted in the artwork.

It was also a collaborative effort.

“We all worked on it together,” Rudden said. “I mixed a lot of the colors and gave it to people, and worked on texture and the water.”

She said a picture was taken of the scene, with a rough sketch put on another piece of paper. It was then put on a projector.

“We put my fake little sketch onto there, and we traced that a little bit, and then went from there,” Rudden said.

Hadley said she helped the students find photos of the lighthouse. However, the vantage point had to be specific since the mural would be placed in a particular spot in the Children’s Corner over a shelf and a table.

“So we knew we needed the lighthouse up high, so we did it more from McCarty’s Cove,” Hadley said.

The mural will be displayed at the museum indefinitely.

For details on the museum, located at 300 N. Lakeshore Boulevard, call 906-226-2006 or visit mqtmaritimemuseum.com.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.