GRAND WORK OF ART—Kristy Aiani, 17, stands beside the huge mural she painted over an 11week period at Justin Elementary School in Simi Valley. A senior at Santa Susana High School, Kristy did the mural for her senior project. Kristy's mom, Denise, is a fourth-grade teacher at Justin. In the eyes of at least one Justin Elementary School student, Kristy Aiani is a modern-day Michelangelo.

For her senior project at Santa Susana High School, Kristy, 17, spent 11 weeks painting a mural on Justin Elementary's back wall to help beautify the campus and encourage literacy.

During the dedication ceremony Jan. 23, one student asked Kristy if she felt like the famous Renaissance artist while working atop a ladder to paint her masterpiece.

"I just wanted to do something that would inspire kids," Kristy said.

The mural features three children reading books under a tree. A dog is nearby. Balloons and butterflies are pouring out of the pages.

The dog was inspired by Kristy's own pet, Honey, a yellow Lab mix rescued from the West Valley Animal Shelter.

She also found an inspirational quote online and painted this mantra: "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader."

Kristy started her senior project four weeks before the 2008 winter break and worked on it every weekday during her vacation, except on Christmas morning. She braved strong winds while balancing on a ladder and had to clean up the mess made by a stray dog that ran through the paint. She also faced some less than pleasant weather conditions.

"On certain days, it was miserable because of the cold," she said. "If it gets too cold, the paint sticks and it doesn't want to spread."

Kristy said she used more than 20 brushes and four gallons of paint, most from large cans in the garage and small tubes lying around her home

Denise Aiani, a fourth-grade teacher at Justin, said her daughter worked hard to complete the project.

"It took a lot of perseverance," Aiani said.

Principal Marian Weaver couldn't hide her appreciation for the mural.

"It's just a huge contribution to our school," Weaver said, "because it fosters a love of reading."

Aiani said graffiti vandalism has been a problem at the elementary school in the past. But students have developed a sense of pride about the mural, she said, and have been keeping a watchful eye over the artwork.

One weekend, students on skateboards approached Kristy and congratulated her on the work, she said.

"Graffiti's a concern. The school just covered up graffiti near my mother's classroom," Kristy said. "I didn't want someone drawing moustaches or anything profane. There were no problems really."

Kristy's sister Katie, 21, is a professional graphic designer and her father, Ray, is a professional artist and engineer.

The young artist, whose favorite medium to work with is oil paints, will probably attend Moorpark College in the fall, and she hopes to have a career that's focused on art.

She is currently taking four artfocused classes at Santa Susana: graphic art, yearbook, advanced graphics and advanced art.

Even if she might not think of herself as the next Michelangelo, Aiani would like to tackle similar big projects in the future.

"I'll do another mural," she said. "But I don't want to be paid for it. I want to do it because I want to do it, because it will send a good message."