Twelve-year-old Mikaela Wright, illustrating her answer to the prompt “Gratitude,” focused on life’s basics to fit her thoughts into a small space: “Friends, games, money, food and family.”
Wright, a sixth grader at Sunkist Elementary School in Anaheim, is one of a few dozen students at the school who, under the creative guidance of local artist Carla Roque, have been etching an art piece that will be displayed at the ARTIC train station on Nov. 13 as part of a public art exhibition that’s supported by OCVibe.
The temporary gallery, OCVibe officials said, aims to hint at the permanent aesthetic that will soon define the developing entertainment district in Anaheim around the Honda Center, with more than 70 original artworks planned for installation over the course of the next year.
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Local artist Carla Roque, left, works with Sunkist Elementary School student, Emily Garcia for a collaborative art project on Thursday, November 5, 2026. (Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Local artist Carla Roque, left, works with Sunkist Elementary School student, Emily Garcia for a collaborative art project on Thursday, November 5, 2026. (Photo by Karen Tapia, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students, working with the themes “collaboration” and “gratitude” inked what they were grateful for onto small acrylic discs to later be attached to several panels, which, when eventually puzzled together, will create a 4-by-5-foot mural that’s meant to evoke Orange County with vibrant strokes of blue, green and orange paint.
The students sketched family portraits, homages to faith, favorite hobbies and nods to Anaheim and Orange County. Wright’s disc features a girl with a thought bubble of small figures representing her keywords.
Noe Galindo, 11, drew an intricate, erupting volcano. The imagery, though not native to Orange County, resonated with the fifth-grader.
“I think volcanoes are like my favorite natural thing,” he said. “And I like painting natural landscapes, so I guess it’s my go-to picture to draw.”
Ariel Luna, 11, drew a sandy shoreline punctuated by swaying palm trees.
“I love the water,” she said, adding she enjoys sunny-day swims at Huntington Beach. “I love spending time at the beach with my family.”
Artist Roque, answering her own prompt, mentioned her family history; her local roots go back to the 1800s, and her grandparents worked in the local citrus industry, she said.
Roque’s making her own mark on the local community, with her partnership with OCVibe, where you can spot her mural on the district’s Katella parking garage, and with the Anaheim Elementary School District, where she has worked with students on murals for its 23 campuses.
Roque is soon to finish her 55th mural at Sunkist Elementary School.