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Creating something AWESOME

MNW alumna paints murals at elementary school

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Jordan Neumann, a 2012 Manson Northwest Webster High School graduate, poses with wings she painted on a wall at the MNW elementary school in Barnum. Neumann painted multiple walls with varying themes throughout the school during the summer. She wanted to give students and staff something new to see after being away from the school for almost six months. The quote on this wall says, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

BARNUM — When students and staff returned to Manson Northwest Webster Elementary School in Barnum on Aug, 24, they were greeted with something new and colorful at almost every turn.

That’s because Jordan Neumann, a 2012 Manson Northwest Webster graduate, painted murals with varying themes throughout the school.

“I figured the kids hadn’t been to school since March,” she said. “I wanted to give them something new to come back to.”

Neumann had been working as a travel nurse in Louisiana earlier in the year. But after COVID-19 hit, she moved back to Iowa in the spring.

She typically comes back each summer to coach junior high softball for MNW. This year she decided to ask Bret Larson, the MNW elementary principal, if he needed any help cleaning around the building.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Jordan Neumann, a 2012 Manson Northwest Webster graduate, sits next to one of her murals in the nurse’s office at the MNW elementary school in Barnum on Friday. Neumann works as a nurse at UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center. She’s also a substitute teacher and coach for MNW schools. Her mother is the school nurse.

“I talked to Mr. Larson to see if he needed any help and he said, ‘of course,'” Neumann recalled. “And then one day I was sitting at home and I was like what if he lets me paint the building? I pitched him the idea and he said that sounds awesome. He essentially said, ‘Go for it, do what you want.”

And Neumann didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the opportunity. She started by walking the halls of the school and marking the walls she thought should be painted.

Neumann began painting the second week of May. She finished the Monday before school started.

The walls near the kindergarten classrooms were the first to get a fresh coat.

“I tried to paint what I thought was more appropriate for lower elementary,” Neumann said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
The boys’ restroom at Manson Northwest Webster Elementary School in Barnum has taken on a super hero theme thanks to the talents of Jordan Neumann, a 2012 MNW High School graduate.

The walls above the lockers going down that hallway feature orange and navy blue triangles.

“I started on one side of the hallway and went all the way down and would come all the way back after lunch,” Neumann said.

She said each side took about four hours.

Katherine Nickles, a kindergarten paraeducator, is impressed with Neumann’s work.

“It looks like a whole new school,” Nickels said. “She did a great job.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Manson Northwest Webster school colors are painted on the walls throughout the elementary school. Jordan Neumann, an MNW High School graduate, came up with the designs and spent dozens of hours during the summer to give the school a fresh look.

As you walk down that hallway to the east, the words “It’s fun to do the impossible” can be seen in big bubble letters.

“That one was quick and easy,” Neumann said.

A quote she painted by the library reads, “It’s your time to shine.”

“That one probably took about a week just doing that,” she said.

Another wall by the guidance counselor’s office reads, “If you can’t think of anything nice to say, you aren’t thinking hard enough.” Neumann attributes that quote to Kid President.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
The kitchen at Manson Northwest Webster Elementary School in Barnum has a theme of a rainbow food pyramid.

Neumann did a lot of the work herself. But she admits the diamond-shaped pattern on one of the walls would not have happened without her brother.

“My brother helped me make the diamonds,” she said. “He measured out on the wall how to do them. I was really thankful for his help on that one.”

Neumann said it took two days to tape and get all the painting done on the diamond-shaped pattern wall.

From there, Neumann went with a more random design that featured several colors. That wall reads, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

The boys’ and girls’ restrooms each got their own theme.

For the boys it was super hero logos, including Batman, Superman, Captain America and others.

That wall took her two weeks to finish.

The girls’ room is a vibrant display of flowers.

Neumann’s mother, Kim, is the school nurse, so of course she couldn’t leave that room untouched.

“I knew she wanted something done in her office,” Neumann said. “I picked this really intricate pattern to paint and then I hated it, so then I started a different painting and I hated that one also. So after the third try I came up with a design I really liked in her office.”

Her inspiration was derived from the country song, “Be A Light” by Thomas Rhett.

The mural has a black background. The depictions painted on it are things that create light — including the sun, a flashlight, light bulbs and fireflies.

Written on that wall is the phrase, “In a world full of hate, be a light.”

Neumann said the nurse’s office and the boys’ restroom are her two favorites, although she likes them all for different reasons.

She also painted the fifth-and-sixth grade hallway, which included a painting of wings, and the school’s kitchen, which features a food pyramid theme.

Dallas Groves, 11, a sixth-grader, noticed her work.

“You made those?” he asked, referring to the wings. “Those are amazing.”

Neumann admits the project went a lot further than even she thought it would.

“It was the whole school — it was crazy,” she said. “It started out as a couple of walls and then I had another idea and another idea. I thought I might be in over my head, but we got it done.”

Neumann holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wartburg College in Waverly and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Allen College in Waterloo.

She recently accepted a position as a full-time pediatric nurse at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Neumann also has her substitute teaching certificate. She’s an assistant volleyball coach for MNW.

“I like to stay busy and do a bunch of different things,” she said.

In terms of her artistic talent, Neumann said she improved her skills with the help of a college roommate at Wartburg.

“I always liked to draw in my notebooks at school but never really took art classes in high school,” she said. “My roommate in college was a studio art major so we had art nights. So we started a little college business. We would buy those canvas shoes from Walmart and paint them for people. That was just a quick way to make 25 bucks. We would buy the shoes, paint them and sell them, so that sparked getting into more artsy stuff. It just went from there. Painting became really fun. You just go buy a canvas and can paint anything. I’ve done paintings for baby showers, I painted a few signs for my friend’s wedding.”

Neumann is happy that she was able to spruce up her old stomping grounds with her talent.

“I really like working here at the school,” she said. ” I’ve been working with the staff since I was 19. I’ve gotten to know them really well. It’s a school that’s given me so much, its been nice to give back, too.”

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