Embedded Files
Sita Cooper, Staff Writer for The Spark
Photo Credits: Sita Cooper
Painting of a girl walking through space with books standing tall on both her sides. The mural is located outside the Media Center and is one of the first Watauga High School students see upon arrival.
Through multiple generations of WHS students, the hallways have become filled with color and creativity.
Through multiple generations of WHS students, the hallways have become filled with color and creativity.
Mountains with a rainbow running along their base, encompassed by bricks with pictures of previous WHS students and teachers.
Two people painted as mimes are holding open a curtain to show a river, ducks, a small canoe, mountains, and a sunset. The mural is located in the theater arts hallway.
"Lori Hill [a former art teacher] was in charge of it before I got here," said Alyssia Ruggiero, an art teacher at Watauga High School. "That one down there by the theater room is her kids: her daughter and son. She did it by projecting photographs on the wall. That's how she got the realistic quality."
Close-up angle of a mural set in a fantasy world. The mural is located outside Ruggiero's classroom.
"I had two exchange students from Germany that started it," said Ruggiero. "She [one of the students] did the mermaid and the creatures. But then that unicorn is by somebody totally different."
A second angle of the unfinished mural showing a fantastical world with a dragon, unicorn, fairy, and a mermaid. The mural is located at the end of the 2300 hallway.
A second angle of the unfinished mural showing a fantastical world with a dragon, unicorn, fairy, and a mermaid. The mural is located at the end of the 2300 hallway.
Close-up of the beginning sketch of a record player with a vinyl spinning.
"The bones [of the mural] are kind of there, you can see the record player on the left," said Frankie Lancaster, the choir teacher at Watauga High School. "The person on the right is supposed to be me." This mural was started by a recent WHS graduate, Iyla Freed, a 2026 graduate.
Close-up of the beginning mural sketch showing hands being clasped.
"Music brings everyone together regardless of their background or what they're doing," said Lancaster. "It's supposed to almost feel 3D."
Close-up of the beginning of a mural sketch featuring two people holding hands. The sketch is located in the choir classroom.
Mural of an astronaut in space with a speech bubble over its head saying, "Help desk, we have a problem," seen through the escape hatch. This mural is located outside the help desk in the 2200 hallway.
"The one by the help desk, that was actually done by Ms. Hill's student teacher," said Dacia Trethewey, an art teacher at Watauga High School. "She said, 'Make a mural', and he [her student teacher] did."
Close up of a little creature in a space suit. This small painting is a part of the bigger mural outside the help desk.
Sketch of the beginning of a mural depicting two people at the focal point, divided into two sections: one with farming and agricultural aspects, and the other with mechanical and welding aspects. This mural is by Ada Tzotschew, a senior at Watauga High School, and is located in the 1100 hallway between the doors to the automotive classrooms.
"The main inspirations I took from it were murals from the Soviet Union and Mexico, because both of those places have, or had, really big art scenes, and they have really great mosaics," said Tzotschew.
Watuaga Pioneer Band mural showing a "W" with musical notes surrounding it. This mural is located outside the band classroom.
Painted gears, each illustrating different images. These small murals are all over the wall of Ruggiero's classroom.
"It started my first year teaching here. So I asked them [her art three students] to come up with an idea for a mural on that wall that had to do with creativity, but also had to do with collaboration," said Ruggiero. "And this guy, Alec, came up with the idea of gears, because they're all individual details, but they work together."
A mural illustrating two people playing tennis, with mountains in the background and a large "W" at the center. The white line through the middle is to show the tennis net, and the mural is located in the center of the tennis courts.
"There was a key group of folks, mostly led by Emma McGinnis and Lucy Lackey," said Trethewey. "The tennis mural started by the tennis coaches approaching us and asking 'Could your students do it?' and then we put it to the art club [NAHS]."
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