Napa High School mural

[Faithless]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/chottomatte/napa_mural_00.jpg

Terry Schiavo legal team joins religious fight over Napa school mural (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050529-19009-ca-religiousmuralfight.html)

By The Associated Press * ASSOCIATED PRESS * 7:009 p.m. May 29, 2005

NAPA – The Christian legal association involved in the Terry Schiavo case has taken up the fight over a castle-in-the-sky mural at a Napa school that some students have complained is too religious.

Napa High School students launched a petition drive last month to stop classmate Kyle Trudelle from painting his mural on a school wall. Students argued that the castle in the clouds looked too much like heaven.

Trudelle, a religious senior who is known at school as "Pastor K," initially agreed to alter the mural to quell the controversy, but changed his mind after getting a phone call from the Christian Law Association offering help.

"It didn't sit well with me that I was changing it," said Trudelle.

Trudelle is being represented by the Christian Law Association and the Gibbs Law Firm, both of Seminole, Fla. Gibbs and the association represented the parents of Terry Schiavo, who waged a years-long battle in national headlines to keep their daughter on life support despite her husband's wishes. Schiavo died in March.

School officials ordered Trudelle last week to stop painting until the lawyer for Napa Valley Unified School District reviews the situation.

In a May 24 letter to the school, Trudelle's lawyer, Charlotte Cover, urged the school to let Trudelle continue his painting, saying that it does not violate the separation of church and state because Kyle is not an employee of the school.

"Instead, he is the Napa High School's client or 'customer.' As such, he has the right to religious speech in a government school that principals and teachers do not have," she wrote.

Trudelle said he wants to fight for his rights as a Christian. But he also insisted that his painting could be interpreted in many ways.

"It's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "It could be the road to El Dorado or the Disneyland castle. In my eyes, it is a road to heaven."

[hooligan]

Well, I guess, he wanted to change it, but when a Christian legal team called to back his ass up he decided NOT to change it? WTF. If that's any significance of any religious connection, I'd say you've got it right there.

[nola]

From the article:

Trudelle said he wants to fight for his rights as a Christian. But he also insisted that his painting could be interpreted in many ways. "It's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "It could be the road to El Dorado or the Disneyland castle. In my eyes, it is a road to heaven."

Yeahhhhh it can be interpreted sooo many ways and what does it remind everyone of?

What is going on in Florida nowadays? There's the guy on the crane and now the Republican Executive Committee Members have asked Randall Terry of Operation Rescue (he also recently protested for Terri Schiavo's parents) to unseat Florida senator Jim King in the 2006 Republican primary.

[Faithless]

The kid's noted for his religious artwork.

Inspiration: Mel Gibson's "The Passion". Oh, and Thomas Kincaid (painter of dime-a-dozen Americana schlock).

Realism, evangelism, and Chuck Taylors (http://napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=DA435E16-DA1B-45DD-80E2-4A9B98AE8CCF)

Kyle Trudelle looks like a normal high school student. Races, Chuck Taylor All Stars -- the whole nine yards. But in fact, this kid is unusually talented. He said, "It's a gift. I've always had it." Then, he showed off some extraordinary paintings he had completed for Chuck Svenson's Art III and IV classes.

Trudelle's painting, "Forgiveness," looks so professional it could belong in the pages of a children's book at Barnes and Noble. For the painting, Trudelle used oil and colored pencil to reproduce a photograph from Mel Gibson's recent production, "The Passion." Although this artwork was a commission, Trudelle said, "I will make a new one for (the patron), because my mom won't let me sell this one.

"I like using oil, because you can move it around and it's slow drying." Oil paint also helps him achieve the realism he likes, evident in his paintings of wildlife, island scenes and church-related imagery. Currently, he is working on a mural for the outside of the Napa High art building. He has also done some commissioned work, painting backdrops for his church's productions.

"When I was little, I saw things differently. I talked about colors and shadows," said Trudelle, whose grandmother and biological father both painted. Trudelle also watched painting shows when he was little. He said, "(Art's) just a big part of me. It's just the way I see things É like the way the light will touch someone's hair."

Thomas Kincaid, an artist who paints nostalgic stone cottage scenes, is one of Trudelle's inspirations. Trudelle said, "The way he does light is just amazing!"

His teacher, Svenson said, "Kyle's been with me for three years. He's very dedicated and a very accomplished realist artist, also an extraordinary student. He has a constant positive attitude. He's a real model, highly motivated and ambitious. It takes very little initial instruction to get him started." Of Trudelle's future in art, he said, "He has all the tools, he just needs to take it to the next level of education."

Trudelle's extracurricular activities include working at Party Time and acting as captain of a bus route for underprivileged children who want to go to church, but who can't otherwise get a ride. He said, "My weekends are more packed than my weekdays."

Much of Trudelle's inspiration comes from his spirituality, evident in the subjects he chooses for his work. Peppering the conversation with evangelistic catch phrases, he explained how he became very involved in church in eighth-grade, and has since changed his plans from pursuing art or photography. Instead, he will attend Golden State Baptist College in the fall, and this summer, he plans to sell his paintings on the streets in St. Helena and Calistoga to make money to pay for college. After finishing the four-year program, he hopes to be a missionary in Africa, Mexico, New Guinea or Brazil.

He plans to use his the sales of his artwork to supplement his income, which will no doubt be meager if he becomes a missionary in the third world. He also plans to use his paintings to bridge language barriers that may arise in his missionary work.

[Banana]

Florida should be turned into a nuclear testing ground.

[deez nuts]

maybe he really likes that techno "castle in the sky" song.

[hooligan]

Or smokes a lot of pot?

[Atealtha]

From the article:

Trudelle said he wants to fight for his rights as a Christian. But he also insisted that his painting could be interpreted in many ways. "It's in the eye of the beholder," he said. "It could be the road to El Dorado or the Disneyland castle. In my eyes, it is a road to heaven."

Yeahhhhh it can be interpreted sooo many ways and what does it remind everyone of?

Just a thought:

Being offended by that idea and asking to take it down emphasizes the idea that there is only one way to interpret such a picture.

[stupidredhead13]

Maybe it's just me, but the 'castle in the sky' does not look too much like heaven. Yes, the gate is a bit obvious, but the rest just looks like skyscrapers (not that there is a definite way to represent heaven), so i do not find it that offensive.