BMS Art on Main Keeps Spotlight on Emotions

Sixth grader Dustin Wessel has his art featured on the Simons Company building on Main Street.

L to R: BCEF board members and program coordinators Ryan Holcomb and Jama Linkel-Cleghorn, artist Dustin Wessel, BCSC Superintendent Dr. Katy Eastes, and BMS Principal Dave Strouse celebrate the installation of the BMS Art on Main featured piece. It can be viewed at the corner of Main and George Streets in downtown Batesville. Photo provided.

(Batesville, Ind.) - 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 of Weathering Emotions.

“For my artwork, I used colored pencil for the whole piece,” Wessel explained. “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 Community School Corporation (BCSC) school buildings on a rotating basis. A special thank you from BCEF is extended 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.