LAKE PLACID — Mya Marshall has two loves: Studio art and Chick-fil-A. Last year, in her freshman art class at Lake Placid Middle/High School, she decided to combine them as a project. The result was a paper mache bottle of Chick-fil-A sauce that clocked in at almost 4 feet tall.
“I just really like Chick-fil-A,” Marshall said.
Her class was assigned to make large cardboard sculptures. The rest of the project was up to the students, and they got creative with their designs. According to Marshall, aside from her giant sauce bottle, her classmates created things like an oversized traffic cone and a toothbrush with an accompanying tube of toothpaste. Her choice of Chick-fil-A sauce started as a joke during the brainstorming phase of the project — she’s a devoted fan of Chick-fil-A’s waffle fries and sauce. But, the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
“Originally, I wasn’t going to do it,” Marshall said. “But then, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I really like Chick-fil-A sauce. This would be really funny.’”
SAUCE CONSTRUCTION
The base of the structure was constructed out of cardboard. After that, Marshall covered it in paper mache — strips of paper dipped in glue — and hand-painted it to look like the bottles of sauce that sit on grocery store shelves. Altogether, the project took about two weeks of class time to complete. Marshall said she loves to do art, though she couldn’t fit it into her schedule this year. She rarely sculpts, though — this project was a bit out of her comfort zone.
At the end of last school year, Marshall took the big bottle home, where it sat in the entryway of her family’s house to greet family and friends. That is, until her dad started scheming to get it put on display at the closest Chick-fil-A — the location on state Route 3 in Plattsburgh.
“My dad was up there and he was like, ‘Hey, I’m just gong to ask them to see if they can put it in there,’” she said.
The staff leapt at the idea and took possession of the substantial sauce sculpture in early September, posting on the store’s Facebook page to thank Marshall for giving it to them.
“This school project is Chick-fil-A Plattsburgh approved,” the Sept. 12 post read.
Visitors to the Chick-fil-A location will be able to see Marshall’s art on display for the foreseeable future — and maybe get some Chick-fil-A Sauce of their own.