FTB has a New Addition!
Stacy Ridgeway, a local artist and proud parent of a Floyd T. Binns student, recently completed a brand new mural for the school on Tuesday, September 12th. The mural, which spans across the main wall on the second floor just outside the library, depicts various concepts, characters, and symbols of the school in vibrant colors and pictures.
“This is my passion,” Ridgeway said. “And hopefully, it will inspire and motivate others.”
Ridgeway moved to Culpeper two years ago, and also completed a mural for A.G. Richardson, which was the school his daughter attended last year. “Since she is here, I am gifting a mural. So everybody say, ‘Thank you Arianna!’” Ridgeway said with a smile.
“When Mr. Ridgeway approached me at the end of the summer about gifting FTB a mural, I was very excited for our school,” said Floyd T. Binns Principal Andrea Kilby. “He shared his portfolio with me, and it was clear that we were going to be getting something very special.”
Ridgeway is the creative director for Mural Mural On The Wall, a company he founded in 1986 that specializes in large scale, hand-painted, custom murals. He has been an artist for over 36 years, and prior to starting his own company, he was an art teacher in New York and Atlanta, teaching elementary, middle, and high school for seven years total. All that changed, when he was asked to paint a school logo on the gym floor by one of the coaches in 1986.
“That one floor turned into ten floors and walls, which turned into a thousand, and a thousand turned into 36 years later,” Ridgeway said.
Throughout the week and a half long process, Ridgeway shared his love of music, painting, and teaching with faculty and students, even collaborating with a 7th grade art class to help color in some of the images.
“I felt it was a fantastic opportunity for students to collaborate with a community artist,” said Elissa. Greathouse, the art teacher for FTB. “They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are proud of their contribution to the school! Mr. Stacy did a wonderful job of utilizing the skills of the class and making them feel talented.”
Ridgeway went on to add, “I’ve had students that have grown up, went to college, opened up galleries, went on to be muralists, went on to be graphic artists, and they shoot me an email, saying ‘You may not remember me, but I helped you paint the mural at such and such school, and I wanted to stop and say thank you for sparking that spark in me.’”
The mural took 13 days, including a few weekends to finish. “Now that the mural is complete, it is obvious that Binns got something that is priceless,” said Mrs. Kilby. “The mural is a beautiful addition to our school. We appreciate Mr. Ridgeway’s talent, time, and passion that he shared with us.”
