Spotlight on Our Creative Home: Botwood Mural Project

Tucked along the west shore of the Bay of Exploits, the town of Botwood has over the years transformed into an open-air gallery with its many murals that celebrate the community's unique history and heritage. Each piece tells a tale—of aviation, wartime memories, maritime heritage and everyday life—capturing moments that have shaped both Botwood and the province as a whole. These eye-catching, large-scale murals have also helped establish the town as a tourist destination, while enhancing community pride. (Click here to learn more about Botwood's murals on the Botwood Mural Arts Society's website.)

One of the town’s newest murals also represents a homecoming of sorts for one local, emerging artist. Last fall, Tiffany Elizabeth A. Lyver spent the month of November at her former school, Botwood Memorial Academy. There, she collaborated with K-6 students to transform a 25-foot brick wall in the school's foyer (where students start their seeds before transferring them to the school’s
greenhouse) into a vibrant mural celebrating growth cycles, agriculture and sustainability.

The collaborative mural residency is part of the Our Creative Home initiative, supported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for Year of the Arts and delivered by Municipalities NL and Business & Arts NL, with The Paint Shop donating $300 worth of paints for each mural as part of the initiative. The Botwood Mural Arts Society, and the Town of Botwood, were also partners for this particular mural project. (Click here to learn more about Our Creative Home: Mural & Artist in Residence Program.)

We connected with Tiffany to learn more about how her community helped cultivate her creativity, the healing power of art, and how she's helping foster a passion for the arts in the next generation.

Business & Arts NL: Can you tell us a bit more about your connection to Botwood and this project?

Tiffany Elizabeth A. Lyver: I grew up in Botwood, surrounded by murals and encouraged by supportive teachers and family — it’s a community that deeply nurtured my creativity from a young age and still supports me to this day. I attended Memorial Academy and painted the walls of the high school. I’ve volunteered and worked with the Botwood Mural Arts Society on many occasions, gaining the experience I needed to create murals on my own.

Business & Arts NL: How did you come up with the concept for this mural and can you share more about the meaning behind it?

TL: The only guideline I was given was that the mural was intended to be used as a teaching tool that visually demonstrates the growth cycle of plants and the importance of sustainability. From there, I met with the leadership team and asked what plants they wanted to see and gave them some options I was considering for the composition and had them vote for which ones they liked best. They all really wanted to see the school’s greenhouse and crops that grow locally in Newfoundland.

As for my personal vision, I knew I wanted the children to see themselves as part of the cycle, so I made sure to include a few children of various ages planting and watering. This played out right in front of my eyes at one point with a girl excitedly pointing to the red-haired girl I was painting and exclaimed “She looks like me!”

Business & Arts NL: What was it like collaborating with the students and how did the collaboration work?

TL: The collaboration was one of my favourite parts. I can’t remember the exact number, around 30 maybe, but I worked with students from Memorial Academy’s leadership team as well as a few high school students from Botwood Colligiate with a particular interest in art.

They shared ideas and elements they wanted to see in the planning stage and then divided into smaller groups to help me paint over the weeks. One group helped prime the wall, others helped tone it all green, another group had an exceptionally fun time painting random letters and shapes and handprints over the wall that I could reference when sizing up my sketch to the actual wall. After that it became more detailed and I created a paint-by-numbers system for the leadership team to help block in colours. Mrs. Dawe’s high school students helped a lot with the finer details and painted trees and rocks and the vegetable plants. My absolute favourite part was getting the leadership team to paint a bumble bee (the school mascot) somewhere in the mural — each one is totally unique and a reflection of the student's personality.

It was fun watching them get hands-on and take pride in their contributions knowing that I was fostering creativity and a passion for the arts in the next generation of children growing up where I once did.

Business & Arts NL: What was the experience like creating this mural and what was your favourite part of the process?

TL: Creating a mural on this scale was a lot more work than I originally thought it would be but absolutely worth it in every way.

My favourite part might’ve been reconnecting with some of my old teachers who are still shaping young lives to this day. It’s probably been over 15 years, but Mrs. Oake still recognized and hugged me as soon as she saw me, and I had the opportunity to present and answer some of her class’s questions about the mural, even though I was once one of her students myself.

Business & Arts NL: Have you received much feedback on the mural?

TL: Yes, I’ve received some really kind comments and feedback from teachers, parents and the community in general, but overwhelmingly I’ve received feedback from the students. Every day they would find any excuse to walk past the mural and let me just say that if you ever need a confidence boost, you should paint in front of primary school children. Following art school critiques, exhibition rejections and general anxiety, it was heartwarming and honestly healing to see the students' awe and excitement at my work. Constantly hearing things like “That looks amazing, Miss!” and “Did you really paint that?!” when all I had done so far was paint the wall a
splotchy green.

Business & Arts NL: How has this project impacted you as an artist and how was the opportunity meaningful for you?

TL: This project was incredibly meaningful. Getting to come back to my old school and contribute to a space that shaped me as a child was really emotional in the best way. It reminded me of how important it is to have art brighten up everyday spaces, especially for kids — it can change the way you feel about where you are, and even about yourself.

This also isn’t the first time I painted the walls of this school. At the end of sixth grade, before we moved to the high school, the students of Memorial Academy have a tradition of painting a brick in one of the stairwells. Being able to go back to this school that holds so many formative memories and leave a much more significant mark behind, while inspiring the creativity and curiosity of kids much like myself at the same time, is a wonderful, full-circle moment for me.

As someone who grew up walking those same halls, I know how meaningful it is to have a mural in the school — not just as a colourful addition to the space, but as a lasting legacy. It becomes part of the environment that shapes future students, and I hope this mural can be a spark of inspiration, creativity and curiosity for years to come.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about working on this project?

I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to be involved in fostering sustainability and a passion for nature and art. The greenhouse and planting program didn’t exist when I was a student, but it was something I would have loved and I’m so happy it’s become such a big part of the curriculum. Although there is a part of me that credits myself with its creation, as the day before I met with the leadership team for the first time, I received a copy of my school records and beside my report cards was a short letter I wrote at Memorial Academy to a previous principal proposing my ideas for new class subjects. The first paragraph read the following:

“Dear Mr. Roach,

Did you know that some plants will tangle themselves around anything it can? Well I surely didn’t, but I would’ve if there was a nature study class in our school. All we need is a garden or greenhouse, some seeds and a plant dictionary too. I like plants and nature because it is all just so beautiful and mysterious and if you choose this subject me and a lot of people would like it. It’s a chance to learn all about the dangers and wonders of plants.”

To learn more about Tiffany and see some of her work, click here to visit her website. You can also find her on Instagram @TiffanyMadeAnArtAccount or drop her a line at TiffanyElizabethArt@gmail.com.