Notre Dame Prep mural brings 150-year history, spirit alive

TOWSON — The culmination of a yearlong celebration of Notre Dame Preparatory School’s enduring presence in the greater Baltimore area has not happened quite yet. But a huge, incomplete 248-tile mural developing in a second-floor gallery of its Knott Performing Arts Center hints at an affirming, artistic statement that will commemorate the school’s 150th anniversary.

Notre Dame Prep’s community mural project, which has attracted the participation of current NDP students and parents, faculty, staff and alumni, officially was announced to the Towson school’s community in November.

More than half the mural panels have been completed, revealing a variety of artistic mediums that include paint, pastels, yarn, sea glass, beads and colored pencils and markers. Collage, crocheting, painting and needlepoint are some of the techniques employed by the guest “artists,” who range from the highly skilled to those who approach art in more rudimentary fashion.

By next month, the completed mural, which measures 8-feet high by 34-feet wide, will be finished. It will be presented April 25 at the Towson school’s Upper Level Art and STEAM night (grades nine to 12), and May 7 at its Middle Level and Arts Night (grades six to eight).

“For 150 years, people have been the heart of NDP, which has allowed us to put our students at the center of our world. Our mission is to educate women to help transform the world,” said School Sister of Notre Dame Patricia McCarron, head of school.

Sister Patricia noted that the founder of the SSNDs, Blessed Theresa Gerhardinger, said her religious community must trust in God’s faithfulness and dare to respond to the needs of the time. 

“This mural is a celebration of that spirit from each year and each generation of our school’s past, and of that spirit that lives today,” Sister Patricia said. 

The central component to the mural blends with the “Where a Gateway Opens” theme of the 150th anniversary. That references an iconic image at NDP – the arch that students in sixth and ninth grades walk under upon first entering the school, and under which the students pass as graduates, symbolizing their entry to the world beyond NDP.

The gateway arch is flanked on either side by word collages, words that came from a survey among students, faculty and staff – including “sisterhood,” “caring,” “faith,” “confidence” and “exploration.”

Christian Leitch, middle level art teacher and the project’s coordinator, said the most popular words chosen in the survey made the cut for the project.

“There are about 30 mediums on the wall,” Leitch said. “With different personalities and artistic skill levels, each panel is dynamic. I’ve emphasized to my students that it doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s perfect the way you can make it. You feel how special this place is when you’re involved in something like this.”

Current NDP students such as seventh-grader Ava Wong and 10th-grader Autumn Summers recognized the connection to the greater NDP community.

“I feel like it’s a lot of people working together to create a masterpiece,” said Wong, who used acrylic paint to create words on her panel.

Summers said she struggled trying to paint and texturize the image of waves in the sea over several days, before declaring it a success.

“It didn’t go my way (at first), but it ended in its own way and I still liked it,” she said. “The mural represents how NDP feels about bringing everyone together.”

Kelly Buedel, from the class of 1980, recently contributed a mosaic to the project, by reprising a mosaic elephant she created in art class as an eighth-grader at NDP. 

“My dining table was basically a palette for about two weeks. I could have just painted it, but I enjoy a creative challenge. I’m not trained in art. I like to do art when it moves me,” said Buedel, who was moved to tears reminiscing about her days at NDP.

“I love the idea of the whole project, because it embraces how NDP invites you to participate with a sense of community. NDP teaches you to be creative, to get out of your box. It takes a lot of effort and heart for me to make (art) successful, and that’s how Notre Dame rolls. I was happy to help.” 

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