Archangel Rainbow, St Anthony's Catholic School, Casper WY. Meg Sundell, Cindy Novotny and all the students.
18'x52" Oct 2018
Our Mural Story
St. Anthony Tri-Parish Catholic School
Our mural is made of images from our Catholic faith, our environment and the Australian Aboriginal creation story. The setting shows Casper Mountain and the North Platte River. The Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent has been transformed into our river and the St. Anthony School mascot, an Archangel. Our large blue sky fills the upper portion of the mural.
Moving from left to right along the mural, the dove is a well-known symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The Shamrock represents the Trinity and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. The roses also represent the Trinity as well as Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church while the scripture represents Catholic teachings and St. Anthony Catholic Church.
The two pronghorn are symbolic of the dual nature of Christ, fully Divine and fully Human.
The sun in the center represents Jesus, the Son of God, while the moon represents resurrection with its 28-day cycle of visual birth and death, followed by birth again.
Three crosses on the mountain, naturally, represent Calvary and salvation.
The eagle represents hope, strength and salvation.
The flock of sheep stands for the faithful, whom the shepherd is carefully watching. The shepherd is symbolic of the Pope, our Bishop, Priests and Deacons, as well as the shepherds who work in the prairies and mountains of Wyoming, a nod to the importance of livestock and ranching to our state.
The elk is a majestic symbol of piety, devotion, Christ, and God caring for his people.
The four Aspen trees represent the four Gospels and the single Spruce tree represents the one God.
The bison skull is an homage to the people who have lived in Wyoming since long before settlers arrived from the east. It is also a reminder that our time on this earth is limited and we should live each day to the fullest.
The ancient icthys symbol is a Greek acrostic which translates as Jesus Christ God’s Son Our Savior. There are twelve of these little fish, representing the twelve apostles, scattered throughout the river.
The hands along the bottom of the mural are those of teachers and staff upholding each other and the students of St. Anthony School as we strive to fulfill our school and life missions.
Our mural was designed by Meg Sundell together with Cindy Novotny inspired by visiting artist in residence Paul Taylor and Aboriginal wisdom. The base coats, dots and detailing were painted by all the students K-12.
