By Terry L. Hapney, Jr.
The Ironton Tribune

Symmes Valley teacher Anna Higgins has enjoyed a passion for art since she was a child.
The educator, in her 10th year in the school district, is an intervention and enrichment teacher, providing gifted services for her students. This is after working in a middle school English language arts position.
“I did nothing but draw and doodle when I was young,” she said. “Once I got to high school, I took every art class that was offered. I just loved it.”
During their senior year in high school in 2008, Higgins painted a mural with her friend, Karissa Gilmore Gullett. Higgins worked with another teacher last year to refinish it, fixing chips and scuffs to brighten it up for all to enjoy. She also painted a mural for the Symmes Valley Briggs Library three years ago.
During the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, Higgins and her student teacher, Carly Pratt, completed a couple of art pieces on the walls of Symmes Valley schools during a time when no students were there. She also painted artwork above her classroom library, painted florals for her niece’s nursery and created a large piece on connecting foam boards for her cousin’s wedding. Higgins averages between two and four canvases for herself and family members every year.
“I do it in my free time,” she said. “I make large canvas art and hang it in my house. I’ve made a few pieces for people here and there—commissioned and non-commissioned.”
In terms of the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library mural in the newly renovated children’s section in Ironton, Higgins’ aunt, Becky Bowling, at the Lawrence County Educational Service Center, knew Higgins had done those murals and recommended her for the job.
Gretchen Claypool, director of the library, reached out to Higgins to ask if she could come up with a couple of options to show them. Higgins did that and they liked the one that she put on the wall.
“They wanted more of a wilderness and seasons,” Higgins said. “I made the four seasons. I put in animals that are around our area.”
Higgins was inspired by the Lake Vesuvius area. The mural includes the dock at Vesuvius and the rock that people jump off—along with the iron furnace there.
Starting the new mural at the Ironton location of Briggs Lawrence County Public Library on Jan. 30, Higgins completed it on March 2 of this year.
“I took my kids into the kids section several times before it was redone,” Higgins said. “It didn’t all go together very well. It was kind of random. Now it’s pretty cohesive. It’s a better place for kids to walk into and get excited about books.”
Gretchen Claypool, director of the library, said the administration and staff are “pleased” to bring a community art project to the library system.
“We will do another with our memorial book bench project, which is just now beginning in Proctorville,” she said.  “We were committed to working with a local artist and educator for our community art projects and Anna was a perfect fit.”
Claypool said Higgins submitted her own design ideas to celebrate the landmarks and natural landscape native to Ironton, and complement the river-rock details in the column entrance at Ironton library.
“Anna’s concept influenced other design decisions that were made at the branch to turn the children’s area into a warm and inviting environment for children to explore, learn and play,” Claypool said. “We couldn’t be more proud of Anna’s contribution to that effort.”