Celebrating Literature Through Art

As you walk past the library at Woodley Hills Elementary School, a stunning mural will catch your eye. Tall trees stretch their limbs high in the air, not sprouting leaves, but images of famous children’s book characters. 

When local artist David Cochran’s oldest son was in fourth grade at Woodley Hills Elementary School, he decided to give back to the school by contributing a work of art – his own.

Now that his youngest son is moving up to middle school this fall, Cochran’s work is finally complete.

Cochran proposed the idea of painting a mural outside of the school library more than a decade ago, when his son Matt was a student at Woodley Hills. He and his wife were highly involved in the school at the time and are still “huge supporters” of the school. Cochran was speaking with the principal, Mrs Bertelson, when she suggested the idea of painting a mural in front of the library. Cochran was “intrigued” by the idea and agreed to paint the mural.  

Cochran, a professional artist in residence at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, has painted for schools in the past. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to paint murals in York County schools.   

When Cochran embarked on the Woodley Hills mural project more than a decade ago, he made sure to do his research. Because Woodley Hills has a diverse student body, Cochran wanted to make sure many different cultures were represented in his artwork. He spoke with kids and teachers to learn more about works of literature from other nations.

“I knew…a mural would have to relate visually to kids from kindergarten up to sixth grade,” said Cochran. “I knew there was just an incredibly rich history of images dealing with literature.”

The 7-foot by 8-foot mural depicts a boy and a girl reading books, capturing the sensation of getting lost in a good book. Cochran included images from popular nursery rhymes, Aesop’s Fables, and Peter Pan, among other works. He painted all three of his sons as characters within the mural. Matt was the model for the child sitting at the bottom of the tree reading a book. His middle son, Jake, was portrayed as Jack in Jack in the Beanstalk. Luke, his youngest son, was painted in the mural as a child reading a book while reaching up to Captain Hook.

Principal Sharon Aldredge said that students are mesmerized by the work of art outside the library, often pausing to admire it on their way to class.

"Every year they go in and look at the mural, especially new students at the building," said Aldredge. "It brings them joy to see it and it is an extreme honor to have it here." 

Cochran painted his mural during school hours. While he was painting, kids would stop by and ask him about his work. Cochran took that as an opportunity to teach students about his creative process.

“They have very active imaginations,” he said. “I tried to show them how to draw and paint and make mistakes, and draw or paint over what they’ve done before. It’s just really good for kids to see that.”

"[The students] loved it," remarked Aldredge. "When you see someone actually doing their craft it's an amazing thing to watch. To see him paint, an actual artist at work, is something most of us aren't privileged to see." 

Cochran believes it is imperative for artists to bring art into the community.

“The artists [at the Torpedo Factory] do community outreach; it’s a major part of their existence,” said Cochran. “It’s something we all try to do because it’s important to get art and creativity in the community.”