Artist adds adventure to Rushwood playground

by Laura Bednar

Rushwood Elementary students will start the school year with even more to love about recess. Local handyman and artist Brian Bauman, of Big Happy’s LLC, enhanced the old-school playground staples of four square and hopscotch through painted adventure paths and a soccer field outline on Rushwood’s playground pavement.

The patterns included an outer space theme, bumblebees and hopscotch for kids to follow. Photo submitted.

Bauman, a Sagamore Hills native, has two nieces attending Rushwood, and his sister is involved with the PTA. Every year for teacher appreciation, the PTA chalks the sidewalk at the end of the school year. But Bauman and his sister took it a step further.

“We chalked the playground for a few hours and come recess, I’ve never received so many hugs from so many littles,” he said.

The chalk drawings featured long jumps, hopscotch with words in the squares like “love, brave, resilient” and paths where kids had to step and “pop” bubbles.

These paths were only 5 feet long and 1½ feet wide, and after getting positive feedback from the students, Bauman decided to make the art larger and permanent.

With permission from the school, he – along with his sister, parents, nieces and a few friends – spent 100 man-hours over four days creating 15-foot-long and 5-foot-wide adventure paths for kids to run, jump and turn. Patterns and pictures include outer space, bumblebees, vines, bubbles and even a keyboard for kids to jump and spell their names, according to Bauman.

“I wanted to throw in some education and challenges,” he said. The adventure paths are long enough that Bauman said it could be an opportunity for kids to take a five-minute break if they’re feeling restless. “It opens the door for an opportunity to help kids that are feeling ‘adventurous’,” he said.

Bauman painted a keyboard with the idea that kids could jump on the letters to spell their names. Photo submitted.

Bauman also painted lines and goal markers for a soccer field, adding his own spin on the Nordonia Hills school logo with a “kid-inspired” version of the knight in the middle of the field. He explained that painting a soccer field on the pavement instead of grass lasts longer.

“While watching the last recess, we saw the love for soccer, need for organization and yearning for more,” he said.

Much of the design was done freehand, but Bauman also used Meta Quest virtual reality goggles, which act as a computer and showed where to mark the lines for the field.

When asked why he donated his time and materials for the project, he said he loves his nieces and the community.

“The world needs to be a little happier,” he said.

Photo caption: Bauman and his sister originally drew hopscotch and other adventure paths in chalk at the end of the school year. Photo submitted.