PARIS – Most of the time, the most popular medium used in artwork decorating elementary schools is crayon.

There will probably be plenty of that at the new Paris Elementary School, but school officials have recently commissioned pieces from three area professional artists to accompany the students’ work.

This is part of the Percent for Art program to fill a state mandate that 1 percent of the building funds of new schools must go to artwork to put inside the building. Preference is given to Maine artists.

Outside the main entrance will be three stone sculptures engraved with wild animals. In the main hallway, by the main office, there will be large pieces to represent the elements: earth, liquid and air and space. In both the computer lab and art rooms, there will be mandalas with floral designs.

Works were picked by a school board committee, which chose three artists from dozens.

The three stone sculptures were designed by Carole Hanson of Damariscotta, who was unavailable for comment Tuesday. They will be 5 to 6 feet tall and weigh several tons, school board members said Monday night. Students playing outside the school can climb on them.

The pieces in the entryway will be designed by Paris artist Brian McLaughlin. He said they are petroglyphs works carved in rock to resemble prehistoric paintings. McLaughlin’s will then be encased in glass, and mounted several inches off the wall so light can shine through.

Each piece is split into two panels, together measuring 4 by 16 feet.

McLaughlin said he designed the pieces to depict wildlife in the Paris area. The first, which represents earth, has etchings of deer and moose. The second, representing water, has fish.

The third, representing air and space, has eight planets to represent Pluto’s demotion.

“When people look at it in 20 years, when Pluto has been named a planet again, they’ll see the history,” he said.

McLaughlin said he aimed to have the works relate to science lessons in the school.

The last works are done by Brownfield artist Brad Fuller.

Fuller said he will make round digital prints by first photographing hyacinths and delphinium flowers in his garden. Then he said he’ll use the computer to divide and multiply the images to get the circle image. The final product will be backlit.

With his artwork, he is including lesson plans to show how mandalas can relate to math.

“Art education is a very valuable resource,” Fuller said. “It gives you more possibilities in problem-solving and the whole array.”