After the subjects to be included are selected and sketched, finished designs are made by Baca amd a team of artists and youth selected to work under her direction on the "design team". The finished drawings are blueprinted or tturned into large drawings for pounce transfers. The blueprints are 1 X 2 foot drawings used to transfer the drawing to the wall. On site work begins with heavy labor: Sandblasting, waterblasting and sealing the surface. Grid lines are marked on the wall to match those on the blueprints, and the images are transferred‑a process that provides on‑the‑job math (as well as drawing) training for the kids. After the lines are drawn and painted a dark blue, a transparent magenta undercoat is applied over the entire surface. This serves to harmonize the colors as well as to cut the glare of the sunlight in the painter's eyes. Snow blindness is a real hazard for the team on the massive wall. The colors are applied first as flat areas and then highlighted and shaded with two tones of the same color‑tri‑color blends ‑the painters call it. Finally, a clear acrylic sealer is applied to protect the painting.

The mural has been flooded five times between 1976 and 1983, with water rising, as high as Edison's nose," but it is not damaged by water. More dangerous is the effect of air pollution, years of exposure to direct sunlight, and fertilizer damage from the adjoining park lawns on the colors.