Henry Waldinger Memorial Library - 2005 Children's Room Mural

The wall above the newly-constructed Storytime Area in the Children's Room is now adorned with a colorful and imaginative mural of children's book characters. The mural was painted by local artist Stephanie Darcy during the summer of 2005. Ms. Darcy has included children's book characters such as Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter, etc. Children who view the mural enjoy identifying the book characters throughout the mural. Stop by the Children's Room to view this beautiful mural.

Ms. Darcy met with the Library Director and Assistant Director in mid-July to discuss the design of the children's room wall mural. Then a rough sketch of the mural was approved. On July 25th, a scaffold was erected, and the actual work on the mural began the next day. Ms. Darcy pencilled the main characters and scenery on the concrete block walls. Then she began painting the mural in acrylics.

The painting of the mural continued throughout August, with Ms. Darcy coming in early in the morning on many days and working into the evening. Library pages sometimes served as models for hands or positions of the characters. Children and parents admired the work in progress and often stopped to talk to Ms. Darcy about their favorite children's book characters. In fact, because of patron input, new characters were added to the original mural design.

The final touches to the mural were made in early September, and then the entire mural was sprayed with an acrylic sealant to protect the paint. Finally, when the scaffolding came down, visitors to the Children's Room were able to view the beautiful mural in its entirety. Needless to say, it was a hit and the library has received many compliments on the Storytime Area mural.

Stephanie Darcy is an art teacher at Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School in Islip and previously taught art at Holy Name of Mary and Blessed Sacrament Schools in Valley Stream and St. Christopher's in Baldwin. She holds a bachelor's degree in studio art from Queens College and a master's in elementary education from Molloy College.

Ms. Darcy has painted a number of murals, does hand-decorated clothing and furniture, and other fine creations through her business, Milady Anne Ltd., which is named for her mother and mother-in-law. She can be reached at miladyanneltd@yahoo.com.