The students who created a vibrant mural that will soon adorn Ober Park learned many things in the process — like how hard it is to make a cohesive piece of art when nine students are part of the project.

Some wanted a painting that was serious. Others leaned toward the abstract and the fanciful. Some had extensive experience, others none. Some were in elementary school, others in high school.

But the students, working under the mentorship of Island artist Bill Jarcho, found a way to make art together. And now their mural — a large, three-panel piece that Vashon High School senior Emily Gripp affectionately calls “Suessian” — is about to be unveiled.

Standing next to the nearly finished piece as it lay on the floor at the Beall Greenhouse, senior Colin Supplee smiled.

“It’s supposed to speak to Vashon. It’s just as insane as Vashon is,” he said.

The piece depicts a gnarly, serpentine tree emerging from a purple flowerpot and spreading out across the three panels, morphing — in the final scene — into a machine-like and mechanical-looking arm.

It’s silly and serious, playful and dark — but most of all, it’s all theirs.

Supplee created the gist of the design; Gripp found a way to make the needed transitions. And everyone got a say in the acrylic piece — from the owl poking out of a hole in the tree to the snow-capped mountains that create a distant horizon.

Leaning it up against the wall for the first time, Gripp, Supplee and Jarcho stood back and took it in.

“Wow,” said Jarcho. “It’s very cool.”

The piece was sponsored by the Vashon Youth Council, funded with a $2,950 grant from the Vashon Park District.

Students involved in the youth council had been talking about painting a mural for a few years, said Amy Ezzo, the group’s part-time executive director. But she knew the only way the council could pull it off is if she and the students could get a grant to cover the costs of supplies and to hire an artist who could mentor the youth.

The group started working on it this summer, after the park district approved its request. Jarcho said it was a long process, in part because of the varied skill levels and the busy schedules of the students involved.

Ezzo is amazed not only by what the students created but by how they shaped and directed the process. Students took charge from the get-go, deciding on the colors, design and location, while Jarcho helped them figure out how to manage their time, stage the project and bring it to fruition.

“We talk a lot about intergenerational programs. This really was an inclusive project,” Ezzo said.

“They pulled it off,” she added. “I was so impressed by their ability to work together.”

Gripp, too, said she’s pleased they were able to complete the project and is happy it will soon add a bit of pizazz to Vashon’s rather ordinary-looking town.

“It’s kind of strange for such an artistic Island to not have many murals,” she said. “That’s why we wanted to do one.”

The mural will be unveiled at a public ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at Ober Park.