Channeling graffiti into artistic expression

Graffiti = gangs.

Or, at the very least, graffiti = vandalism.

Many people, especially those who live in towns plagued by gang activity, see spray-painted graffiti as a nuisance at best and despicable at worst.

But graffiti isn't necessarily about claiming turf - it can have nothing to do with gangs, and can be a bona fide artistic expression that requires talent and creativity, says Aurora resident Luis Velasquez.

Velasquez - warehouse worker by day, graffiti artist by night - wants to dispel misconceptions about his hobby. It is, after all, the very thing that kept him out of gangs, he said.

"I didn't have a girlfriend or a lot of friends in school," he said. "I would come home, do my homework, pick up my cans and do my thing," he said.

Although the 24-year-old admits he spray-painted on plenty of public property during his youth, he said it has been years since he has broken the law.

"When I was younger I used to do it everywhere, but now that I'm getting older, I like to do it legally, on walls, canvasses or murals in kids' rooms," he said.

Velasquez and fellow Aurora artist Emmanuel "Manny" Escalante recently volunteered to work with three Simmons Middle School students in Aurora to create spray-painted graffiti inside the school.

The four murals all display school spirit: One says "Simmons," another has the school initials "SMS" plus science-related writings like "E=mc2." There's also a panther - the school's mascot - and sheet music from a school song. The students spent part of their spring break in April working on the project.

"Graffiti can be not just about gangs and stuff, it can be used for murals and to make things look good," said seventh-grader Jose Palafox, a budding artist who draws and sketches all the time.

His classmate, seventh-grader Angel Berrios, said he really enjoyed helping out. "It was a good experience. I got to see a lot about how (graffiti) works - it's pretty cool," he said. The third student who took part in the project was Aaron Osborne, also a seventh-grader.

All three participate in Simmons' after-school program, run by the Aurora chapter of the nonprofit organization Family Focus.

Isaul Castillo, youth development and program site coordinator for the school's Family Focus program, organized the project after getting permission from school officials.

The goal was for the students to reclaim an art form laden with negative connotations, he said.

"It's a way to beautify the school and be proud of something they did, and also leave something behind," he said.

There was much painstaking discussion about how to design the murals and what colors to choose in order to avoid any potential association with gangs, Castillo said.

"We went over it 20 times to make sure everything was right," he said.

For example, the letters "SMS" in the largest mural are painted in a peach color that has no gang affiliation, Castillo said. The designs were approved by school administrators before being executed.

"We are not trying to be destructive; we are trying to be constructive," he said. "Our biggest challenge was the reaction of the staff and how would they react come Monday morning."

So how did they react?

"They loved it," said Karen Tobin, a teaching assistant at Simmons Middle School and Family Focus school liaison. "Even the ones who have been here for years thought it was really neat."

The project was a way to help kids develop their artistic talents while keeping them off the streets and away from gangs, Tobin said.

"We know this is not usual for a middle school, but there are a lot of cities that give kids white walls to express themselves," she said. "(The Simmons murals) are all school-related, and graffiti is a form of art."