Sophi Cortes

Working together to paint their section of the backdrop, NAHS members Kendall Potts ‘27, Swasthiya Mahesh ‘27, and Ananya Velmurugan ‘27 enjoy the event together. They not only saw this as a chance to contribute something good to their school, but also to socialize and form new connections based on shared passions for art. “When I’m at the dance, I can look up at the finished backdrop and remember that I worked on that and how amazing it was that I was a part of that,” Ananya Velmurugan ‘27 said.

Working together to paint massive backdrops for the Tangled-themed Homecoming dance, National Art Honor Society (NAHS) merged their creative talents to bring the film to life, and create a magical environment for students. By request of World History Teacher Ms. Misty Matthews, the club assembled in the parking lots after school on Thursday, Sept. 12 to complete the task.

With Homecoming fast approaching and preparations needing to be made, Ms. Matthews took action. She reached out to NAHS Sponsor Mr. Jesus Ramirez to ask for a good suggestion as to who would be willing to paint a large artistic backdrop in the cafeteria for the dance. Knowing this would be a great opportunity to share their talents and engage in community service, Mr. Ramirez recommended NAHS for the job. 

“Our theme for the Homecoming dance is Tangled, so we gave them some pictures of inspiration for what we were looking for these gorgeous backdrops to look like,” Ms. Matthews said. “The whole school is going to be decorated in the Tangled theme, so lanterns, sunflowers, twinkly lights, and wisteria will be decorating the halls and the backdrop will be the focal point of the dance.”

The execution plan for the backdrops was determined in a meeting with the NAHS officers earlier in the week. They brainstormed thumbnails and the best way to depict the chosen theme. Once they sketched out the design, they invited all the other members to a separate meeting to begin the creation process.

“We knew we would need a large area to execute the backdrop,” Mr. Ramirez said. “So what we did was we laid [backdrop sheets] down on the concrete [of the parking lots]. The original thumbnail was done in pencil, and it’s a play-off of the scene in Tangled when Flynn and Rapunzel are on the boat and staring at the lanterns floating in the sky. So to emulate that scene, we’re going to need lots of purples and yellows.”

With limited time to act, NAHS finds themselves responsible for painting not only the Tangled backdrop, but also their personal, video game-themed hallway decorations, and having them done by Homecoming Week.

“We will be done in three to four meetings because it’s a massive project,” NAHS President Samarth Margasahayam ‘25 said. “We want to focus on the [Tangled backdrop] because we still have over a month to work on our [own] themed hallway decorations for [Homecoming]. After a week or two, we’re going to have to work days separate from the meetings. The backdrop will be held up with hooks near the big W in the cafeteria for everyone to see at the [Homecoming] dance.”

A challenge many members encountered was the difficulty of painting such bright colors onto the intense black backdrop sheets, as black absorbed most of the colors and seeped through the fabric. Determined to keep the colors from disappearing, the students persisted through the tedious work of repainting numerous layers, noting that in the end, their efforts would pay off when they saw the completed backdrop at the dance.

“We’re trying to cover the whole sheet in purple to represent the night sky but it’s a little difficult since it’s black, so it’s absorbing the color, leading us to apply more layers,” NAHS member Lana Monk ‘26 said. “It isn’t as easy as painting a white canvas, so we have to go over it more than once until it’s an opaque purple. I didn’t help out much last year in NAHS but now I want to do my part in helping out with this backdrop. It’s a fun collaborative project and makes me excited [for] when I [will] finally get to see it hung up at [Homecoming].”

The members worked together to finish the first step — painting the first layer. Working diligently, they know their efforts will be worth it in the end.

“[The students working together] makes me feel that they care about NAHS and are serious about art and helping out in terms of community service, and just leaving their mark if you will,” Mr. Ramirez said. “Knowing that their contributions are being shown on display at the dance is awesome. I’m very glad and grateful that everybody has come out and shown up to help. It truly makes [this activity] special.”