Painting for the Parlor

South Ocean Middle School students have completed a mural that hangs inside of the Shorefront Ices Italian Ice parlor.

The mural was painted by students of the Art Club, who were contacted by store owner Katie Mucha.

"We had a plain white wall and wanted something to connect the store with the community and tied into the bay," Mucha said. "I then contacted the vice principal, put in contact with the art teacher and she was more than happy to be about it."

Sandra Albert-Cassera, an art teacher at South Ocean Middle School who runs the art club, said that students in the sixth-through-eighth grades worked for two months on the project. The 30 students involved were divided into groups of 10 that rotated shifts.

"The students collaborated for an underwater scene and picked and chose sketches that they put together for a final piece," Albert-Cassera said.

Mucha said the store has started to collaborate with Bay Elementary for future events.