Ringgold student paints Monongahela library mural
It combines elements of the city with works of classic literature.
By MICHAEL VINSICK
mvinsick@yourmvi.com
Monongahela Public Library is now home to a hand-made, decorative addition to its walls thanks to the talents of Sara Santina, an upcoming senior at Ringgold High School.
Sara created a mural by hand that was installed June 4 after more than a month’s work. She briefly described the timeline of development for the piece.
“Basically, they just gave me an idea for it: a train, the library, and different types of books,” Sara said. “I sent them in the first draft. The lady was like, ‘Oh yeah, we want it to be a little more mature.’ So I asked for a few examples of what books she wanted in it. And then I just went from there and developed a concept sketch on my iPad using Procreate.
“And then I colored it from there, and then started painting. And that took about a quarter of this week, and overall three quarters of the school year.”
Sara didn’t expect to have her work featured in a public space like the library.
“It’s interesting,” she said. “It was just something I wanted to do.”
Her mother, Danielle Santina, reflected on how the project brought Sara out of her comfort zone to make her talents known.
“Sara is a very shy person. Whenever she came up with the idea about doing the whole mural, it was a really rewarding process for us as parents because she is so quiet and reserved,” Danielle said. “So doing something like this and being honored at the library and having it posted is a very, very, very big accomplishment for her. She doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, but this was really nice.”
Danielle showed admiration and excitement for where her daugh- ter’s skills will take her.
“Yesterday, the librarian said that she came up with the concept of a train because of the train tracks in Monongahela being a very big point of the history and everything about our town,” Danielle added. “So Sara went with that idea and then did all of the different genres of the books.
“She incorporated sheep into the clouds and the fire-breathing dragon. And it was amazing. Everything is just really cool. And we’re excited to see her shine.”
Library Director Amanda Gabeletto acknowledged the various benefits of the creation and installation process for the mural.
“The mural is such a beautiful work of art for the library to showcase,” she said. “I love that people can pass through and see art in our space and see that we support the arts. Also, I love that we coordinated with our community and the school district to have such a talented artist like Sara create it for us. Sara did an amazing job and Theresa was a wonderful teacher and coordinator through the process.”
Gabeletto explained the significance of the inclusion of the train into the mural’s design and hopes others recognize the historical significance of railroads and trains in Monongahela’s history.
“I knew I wanted a train on that wall. It’s such a perfect stretch of wall for a train,” Gabeletto said. “Monongahela and its surrounding areas are train towns and river towns so it fits us.
“Theresa and I coordinated and worked through some variations with Sara and now it’s a whimsical, lovely, thoughtful piece that we will hang proudly for years to come. We love it!”
Gabeletto further expressed the historical significance by showing pride in the library’s proximity to the railroad tracks.
“We are a train library,” she said. “We embrace our proximity to the tracks that run right behind our building and we often have kids who run to the window to watch the train go by.”
The mural holds a blend of local history, combinations of genres of books found in the library and personal design preferences that leave a subtle tribute to Sara. Monongahela’s public library now has a piece of the community directly on its walls with a deeper story for those in the distant future.
