Collegiate Alum Creates Mural to Remember Art Teacher

“I, like I guess most people in 6th Grade, was kind of awkward and shy, and I just remember him being one of the people to help me break out of that a little bit,” Mr. Higgins said of Mr. Kelley. “He was really excited about being creative, and that seemed to rub off on people - from the more ‘jockier’ kids, to the ones like me, to everybody.”

Mr. Kelley died from liver cancer in 2012, during his 26th year of teaching in Collegiate’s Middle School Visual Arts Department, where his curriculum spanned a range of art forms and teaching styles. He was well regarded by students and colleagues alike for his concern for students and for supporting artists of all kinds.

Mr. Higgins was delighted to have an opportunity to design the mural on Plaza Art’s Grace Street building – a location he had been eyeing since he was 15.

“My sentimental attachment to this block, the changes in the area, my affection for the people at Plaza Art and the prime location to advertise myself as a Richmond artist all convened to have had me say I would love to paint a mural here,” said Mr. Higgins, whose specializes in painting graphics in trampoline parks throughout the country.

He discussed a few ideas with the managers of Plaza Art before they commissioned him to create a design on the wall.

“He’s done some work for us in the past and has been a customer for years, so when he offered we said, ‘Why didn’t we think of Marshall?’” said Jay Evans, Assistant Manager of Plaza Art.

Collegiate Uppper School art teacher Mary Arzt is one of Mr. Higgins' former teachers and is now a friend, and she is delighted by the work he has produced to honor Mr. Kelley. Calling it heartwarming, she said Mr. Kelley's wife and daughter are also pleased.

Anyone interested in seeing the mural can visit Plaza Art at 927 W. Grace St. To learn more about Marshall Higgins’ artwork, visit his website: www.marshallhigginsart.com.