A NEW MURAL IN THE ZEN DEN

Photo credit: Danny Madera

Written by: Catalina Yap

Interviews by: Khristian King-Jones, Katherine Hardy-McCluskey, Catalina Yap

A couple days ago, Rep celebrated the addition of a new mural in the Zen Den, painted by senior Ada Fernandez (she/her). The mural runs along the entire length of the wall, showcasing a colorful and impressively crafted depiction of marine wildlife, a sunset, and outer space. She recently shared that she initially received the inspiration for the unique design from a summer job at a school.

 "The summer of sophomore to junior year, I worked at a school, and their theme, like, over at the summer camp program was 'Under the Sea', and I kept on drawing, like, turtles and stuff, and sea creatures, and sea creatures are so cute. I think it's also cool because what's the slowest animal and the most zen animal you can think of? A turtle. So that was something that I wanted. And I realized that there's so much space for me to work on. So I was like, 'What's the thing that makes most sense after the sea?' I was like, 'Okay, a sunset.' And then after that I didn't have light blue, so I had to use dark blue. And then the top one I was like, 'Okay, so we have the full thing. Let's do the full ecosystem.' So then I decided, let's do space." - Ada Fernandez

The idea for a mural was first introduced by Ms. Leddy, who thought it necessary to make the Zen Den a more colorful space for students to relax and express their creativity. It additionally allows people to make their mark at Rep, and leave behind a legacy that will continue to be upheld by younger generations of students.

"My main thing was to create a beautiful space for the students, all of you guys, and to have each student leave a legacy if they enjoy drawing or painting. And I think that’s a beautiful thing, whenever you’re in a school, showing the students' work. And then, years after they leave, they can always come back and say, 'Hey, look what I did back when I was at Rep.'" - Minyoung Leddy

Photo credit: Danny Madera

The idea of having a safe space for students at Repertory has always been vital, both to fostering a sense of community and to providing a brief respite from the chaos of school life. Overall, the Zen Den has many uses, and has proven itself to be a very necessary space for our school to maintain.

"I really want the space to be a place where students can just decompress and enjoy. And then [during] mornings I have Book Clubs in here, and even though our Book Club has grown, I kind of pack everyone in here because it feels more homey than if you’re in a big classroom. And then, I do meetings for different clubs that I advise. So, yeah, it’s used for various different purposes, and if a student needs a quiet place for testing a teacher will bring the student down here as a testing space. So it has a multi-level use for the school, so I’m happy that that’s what it can be utilized for." - Minyoung Leddy

While there are no more specific future plans for the Zen Den as of right now, it's currently open to whomever would like to share their artwork and leave behind their own legacy, whether in the form of a mural, or whatever else might make the Zen Den a more beautiful space for future students to use.

Come over to check out Ada's mural during a free period!

Photo credit: Danny Madera