(Batesville, IN) – The third mural in the Batesville Community Education Foundation’s (BCEF) 2025-26 Art on Main student art program in downtown Batesville has been installed for public viewing on the side of the Simons Company building on Main Street.
The mural, created by Batesville Middle School (BMS) sixth grader Dustin Wessel, reflects this year’s art theme – Weathering Emotions.
“For my artwork, I used colored pencil for the whole piece,” Wessel said. “I decided to go in a different direction than many of the other ideas and instead drew a model of a head. In the head, I used different weather for emotions. For example, the sun is for happiness, and the rain is for sadness. For the background, I used a fade-to-black approach to make the head stand out.”
BCEF’s Art on Main program highlights artwork from students from the four Batesville School Corporation buildings on a rotating basis.
The organization is extending a special thank you to Jimmy Rowland of Rowland Graphics, who donates his company’s time to install every mural, and Nick Maple, owner of the building, who provides the use of his location for the display.
In addition, the foundation appreciates BMS Principal Dave Strouse and art teacher Lynne DiMuzio for their ongoing support.
BCEF board members Jama Linkel-Cleghorn and Ryan Holcomb are volunteer program coordinators.
The BMS mural will be on display until May, when Batesville High School artwork will take its place.
For more information about Art on Main or any of BCEF’s programs, contact BCEF executive director Anne Wilson at awilson@batesville.k12.in.us.
