Barely 2 weeks after finishing the small, but tedious, portrait mural in September 2022, we started on a large one called “Seward’s Native Roots”. It is a huge job to put one together and find grants and donations. This one was no exception.
My town of Seward, Alaska has an interesting beginning history involving indigenous people who were Alaska Natives. The Seward Mural Society wanted to memorialize our Native heritage, where we come from and why the Native community deserves to be recognized.
The mural is 10 feet high by 32 feet long. We paint on aluminum panels and then mount them because our weather is so, well……., “Alaskan”. It is hard to plan ahead for a series of perfect, dry, paintable days. In addition, tables make it more comfortable to paint. (One year we painted on the floor in the gym. Believe me, after being in that position all day, we could barely stand up.)
I’ve lost count of how many murals I have helped plan and paint. Maybe some day I’ll count them. The designer is the only artist paid. I’ve been the master artist in Seward for several. We invite volunteer painters to fill in shapes. It gives them ownership. We acknowledge their hours on an accompanying donor panel where we also show funding contributors. Murals sure dress up a little town.