Pilot Hill Rainbow
Map by Robert Kirkwood
Pilot Hill Rainbow, Laramie High School Mural Project, design by Madie Sprinkle with Justin Deegan, Rebecca Watson, Erin Klauk.
Dot painted by 300 LHS Art and Geology students. Science Consultant: Chris Moody. Artistic Director: Paul Taylor.
May 2021. 10'x52"
Pilot Hill Rainbow Story
This mural is a symbolic topographical map of our Albany County region telling our unique "water story".
Looking east from Laramie (large central blue circle) towards the Laramie Range (top Red section), we celebrate our Pilot Hill Recreation Area, a regional treasure shown in the central dark Brown/Purple area. This 7,000 acres sits on and protects 13% of our precious Casper Aquifer recharge zone represented in the center Gold section. This is the slope of the Laramie Range as you look East. Rain & snowfall (Blue dot circles) collects and seeps underground through the Blue Drainages, flowing downhill in the dark, it emerges in our numerous springs and wells, the smaller Blue circles. From L to R we have the 2 Spur wells, 2 Turner wells of the City Springs area, historic Telephone Springs, Pope Springs, and Soldier Springs. These Casper Aquifer fed springs and wells gift our community with 50% of our water. The other 50% of our water comes from the Laramie River represented here by the symbolic Rainbow Serpent who brought water to the world in Aboriginal Creation.
Our mural maps 3 geological regions; the crystalline Sherman Granite of the Laramie Range in the top Red section; the limestone and sandstone “sponge” section of the western slope in the central Gold section; the Satanka Shale and Chugwater Formation region upon which our town sits and the Laramie River flows, in the bottom Magenta section. Also note the Forelle Limstone Ridge (Grey line & White dots) which borders our LHS and upon which our City Water Tanks sit; and note the pronghorn, mule deer and elk that migrate through the region.
Our mural is inspired by geography, geology and Aboriginal art and culture of “Caring for Country.”
Artist Statement
This piece is about Pilot Hill and its role in the larger story of Laramie’s Casper Aquifer. With the base design of this mural, I made it so that viewer could stand back and see how everything is connected. This mural is a blend of science and art, as well as celebrating community and our amazing water system. The circles of raindrops collect in the mountains, flow into the vein-like drainages then seep into the Casper Aquifer and emerge again from the numerous springs. There is also the Laramie River, represented by the giant snake, the Rainbow Serpent, a major entity in Aboriginal folklore. This mural was greatly inspired by Indigenous Australian art and uses their practice of dotting to further show this sense of connection. We had many students from Laramie High School help work on the mural and add their own dots. These dots serve as chaos and diversity, while also representing all life in this area, such as humans, plants, animals and insects. The dots are present in all areas of the mural, showing how we all rely on this incredible system of water. I hope the viewer can feel both a sense of wonder and community from this piece.
Madie Sprinkle, LHS Senior 2021
