EVERETT — Taylor House-Magill dipped her brush into a can of turquoise paint and began to trace the sky.
Taylor, 17, and other teenagers came to the YWCA building on Broadway on a recent Wednesday afternoon to show the world the true colors and shapes of Cocoon House.
They were there to create a mural, first painting a gray wall white, then making their own art on individual cement blocks.
The wall is in a small parking lot, which is owned by the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, said Luanne Kunz, YWCA community affairs coordinator. The parking lot is right next to the YWCA’s Everett office.
The wall of the YWCA building also has a mural in the works, courtesy of the same group of artists, Kunz said.
“It’s the kids’ self-expression,” she said. “A little bit of free spirit, a little bit of the arts we have here in Everett.”
YWCA asked Cocoon House to paint a mural on the office building hoping it would stop the tagging. In the past, staff had to paint over the wall about once a month, Kunz said.
The Cocoon House group plans to come back to work on the project over several Wednesday afternoons, said Larry Warner, the nonprofit’s board member and volunteer.
The organization helps homeless and at-risk youth in Snohomish County.
“I’ve found out that the youth here are always really artistic,” Warner said.
Taylor, who will be a senior at Jackson High School this year, was going to paint a tree curving upward against the blue sky, a setting sun and a dramatic silhouette of a cliff.
She has been living at Cocoon House for 10 months.
“It can get stressful sometimes, but it’s a good place to be,” she said.
Taylor’s father is in the military and spends a lot of time away from home. She said she doesn’t get along with her stepmother and couldn’t live at home.
Taylor wants to study music and teaching after she graduates from high school.
Dickie Johnson, 19, came to paint, have a good time and make new friends.
“I’ve been helped through these services, and I’d like to give back,” he said.
His history at Cocoon House goes way back.
Johnson said he was kicked out of the house at 17 and hit the streets of Everett. A friend brought him to Cocoon House. He even became a peer mentor at one time but relapsed. He said he’s back on the right track now.
He is couch surfing for now but hoping to get his own place soon. It hasn’t been easy. He just found out that his grandparents mailed his birthday card to his last known address. He doesn’t even remember what it was. He’d like to get that birthday card, though.
He was going to write his name on his cement block and paint spaceships, moon and stars.
Daniel Thomas, 19, of Everett, was going to spray-paint his name. The Cocoon House alum said he came to support the organizations that helped him.
“Even when I’m 30 years old, I’ll be like: Yay, Cocoon House,” he said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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