Leaving your mark
Ninth-grader Jacqulene Prater of Columbia Basin Secondary School signs the 77th square out of a total of 171 that make up artist Patrick Dunning's Signature Project. When complete, the mural will consist of more than 1 million signatures and cover and area of 76 feet by 36 feet. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Dunning came to share his work with students in Moses Lake Thursday as part of a larger message that every individual is unique and has something to offer the world and their communities at home. <br>Aimee Hornberger/Columbia Basin Herald
GEAR UP program brings 'Signature Project' to ML
MOSES LAKE — If there has ever been a piece of art that, when complete, will incorporate more than 1 million people, artist Patrick Dunning's piece entitled "The Signature Project" would be it.
And the best part about it?
People right here from Moses Lake are now a part of what will be a 76-by-36-foot mural that is so much more than what it appears to be — both in design and the impact it has on those who have seen it.
"It makes you care about other people," said ninth-grader Jacqulene Prater of Columbia Basin Secondary School, who was one of many students who got a chance to sign square No. 77 which will be put together with the other 170 squares that make up the mural.
The most amazing part of Dunning's art work to student Jason Gruver was that each individual's signature adds another piece to the entire mural, thus the reasoning behind "The Signature Project" name.
"The way he uses the names of people to put it into this whole picture (is really neat)," said Gruver.
On the surface, the piece appears to be a simple depiction of the sun, moon, stars, and earth.
However, a second glance under the illumination of X-ray, ultraviolet lights, magnetic fields and the sounds of Morse Code reveal several layers to this complex piece.
From signatures, music and pictures of people from around the world and even the recipe to Irish Soda Bread, "The Signature Project" holds within it the diversity of world cultures and the stories behind those who have signed it.
"Everyone who signs a square is making up a tiny piece of color in this piece," Dunning tells the students before him at an assembly Thursday at Moses Lake High School.
It is "a simple celebration of that simple thing called life that we are all a part of," said Dunning of The Signature Project.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Dunning first started the project in 1992, although his inspiration for it came several years before while practicing yoga when he said he saw a picture in his mind of what would eventually become The Signature Project.
Dunning's visit to Moses Lake where he spent the day visiting with students from Chief Moses Middle School, MLHS and CBSS, was sponsored by the GEAR UP Program as a way to encourage students to think about their future and reaching their goals.
It's all about "trying to get kids to think about your future and what you need to do to get there," said Janis Koreis, GEAR UP director for the MLHS site.
What Dunning wants people to gain as a result of being a part of the project is knowledge of their place in the world.
"They're part of an ongoing evolution and a lot of kids, once they see this project, they see their place in the generations," said Dunning. 00040000002E00000008014E024C22510252225C02721D22100050000000B0000000201D220000600000093000000030!C30ACC!FFFFAA0CC00000-