Patrons

Ancient Images, a mural representing pre-Columbian Southeastern Native American culture, was created by sculptor-in-residence Raymond Moose and the Mount Pleasant Elementary Fourth Graders during the 1998-99 school year. The entire project was made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, and community patrons of the arts.

Mr. Moose and Mrs. Smithson approached Martin Foil, Jr., Chairman of the Board and CEO of Tuscarora Yarns, Inc. and other community businesses to gather financial pledges of support in the Mount Pleasant community prior to receiving the "Presenting Artists in the Schools" grant. Mr. Foil was very interested in the project for several reasons:

• It involved the arts
• It involved children
• It involved learning about the first Americans

The theme was close to his heart since Tuscarora Yarns, Inc. was named after a Southeastern pre-Columbian tribe. Through the years he had become personally interested in the Native American culture.

After listening to our plans, he asked, "Do you intend to pay the children for their work?" Mr. Moose and Mrs. Smithson informed him that they had not budgeted that into the grant proposal. He replied, "A real artist would expect to be paid." This became a pivotal point in the entire project. One of their goals was for the children to learn what it was like to work as real artists, alongside a real artist, but they had not thought of paying them. Tuscarora Yarns brought a business dimension to their visual arts project.

Mr. Foil entered into a business agreement with each student artist. A contract was written where he pledged to pay a commission fee of $10.00 to each student who completed a clay tile of high quality that reflected an image of Native American culture for a total of $1800.

Mount Pleasant Elementary did receive the grant, and the children were thrilled with the idea of getting paid for their efforts. Although their tiles and the amount of time they spent on it was worth far more than $10.00, they were learning a valuable business lesson. They seemed to work harder and take their job more seriously because they were earning a sum of money.

All tiles were chosen for the mural, and deservedly so. On May 2, 1999, the mural, Ancient Images, was unveiled before a crowd of 500 community members. At a recognition ceremony, Mr. Foil presented each fourth grade student with a check for $10.00 and seized the opportunity to speak directly and emphatically to a small rural community about the need for community support of the arts and it's importance in our lives. He emphasized what he felt was the significance of the business agreement:

• It taught students business ethics and responsibility
• It made students responsible for their efforts
• It gave them authority to spend or invest their money however they chose to since they had earned the money

He also stressed the social significance of this project: These fourth grade students had made a lasting and permanent contribution to their school and community through the arts.

Tuscarora Yarns, Inc. won the 1999 Governor's Business in the Arts and Humanities Award for its participation in this project, and it has been nominated for the 2000 National Business in the Arts Award. This company's unique involvement and leadership in Mount Pleasant Elementary School's art project made a lasting impression on the children, their parents, and other adults and businesses in the community. Finally, Tuscarora has pledged to financially maintain and further promote this mural as a North Carolina public work of art and state treasure.

Tuscaroras admire Ancient Images