This was a fun but challenging project. It was my first time working on an outdoor mural of this scale so I learned a lot along the way. Thankfully it turned out beautifully and I think that all the participants had a lot of fun and new connections were made!
I was inspired to do a mural vs an art workshop as I think it’s more connecting to work on the same project together rather than individual projects. Working together on one project requires teamwork and creates unity.
We worked on the mural over the summer doing four 3 hr sessions once a week. I promoted it as a drop-in anytime and work for as little or as long as you like which I think works well for people. There were over 20 different people who came out to paint, from teens to seniors, most with no experience. I had an outline of the design traced onto the wall before they got there and each area was numbered to coincide with a color so it was like a giant paint-by-number poster! People really liked this idea as it was easy to follow and didn’t require a lot of skill. The people that kept coming back said that they found it to be really relaxing and I think that working in such a close proximity made it easy for us to connect with each other and start up conversations.
Some of the challenging parts were working around the weather forecast, having to update all the posters around town when a date was postponed, painting on a textured wall, estimating the amounts of each color of paint needed, using a projector for tracing while trying to get the scale right…lots of little unforeseen stuff.
Advice to those wanting to take on an outdoor mural project:
- Choose your site wisely. The first site I chose had a wall that was much too tall and was alongside a roadway, both of which felt unsafe. It also had too much streetlight for a projector to be used. Changing locations to the new site proved to be much better and more manageable. The wall was in a family-friendly courtyard that was shaded from the harsh sun while we were painting and as it’s not in the sun much, it will resist fading more.
- The wall will probably take more paint than you think. This wall was about 10′ x 24′ and it took about 3.5L of primer. Some colors such as the blues, greys, and whites only needed one coat but others such as the oranges, greens, and blacks needed 2-3 coats so choose your colors carefully.
Overall it was a great experience and it felt good to contribute and create connections within the community. I really hope that people will feel uplifted when they pass the mural and that those who participated in this project will feel proud of the creation that they had a hand in making!
