Mostly Wordless Mural...

Saturday I was lucky enough to go to Acker Park here in Prescott and attend the very last mural dedication of the five murals painted in Prescott in five years by The Mural Mice.

I would love to direct you to their website as their work all over town is inspired and beautiful, but their server is down.

This is why.

I have been personally watching the Go Green mural evolve on the wall of my old elementary school Miller Valley for a long while now.  It is on the route I take home from the gym in the morning and it's be fun for me to see it come along.

I personally have no qualms about the image as I think it is beautiful, and the only real thought that goes through my mind is, "how do they paint so well?!?!"  I was also slightly worried about painting on the bricks of the building, but if I can recall correctly, that was either build while I was attending school there or re-done thereabouts...there has been some grumbling about this, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't build a 7,000 square foot school out in what would have been the middle of nowhere in 1912 (or around then) So that is more new brick and not the actual historical part of the school that lies off to the left of the mural on an entire different wing of the school.  R.E. Wall, the mural artist also said that he was so excited to be able to paint this particular mural with the children of the school...and it sounds as if the children were happy about this project.

In fact, the kids on the mural were models for the mural itself.

Which is why I cringed when our local councilman Blair started talking about the color of their skin.  There's really nothing positive to follow a statement that begins, "I am not racist but..."  And R.E. Wall and his team lightened the color of the childs face up...on a project that had already been approved by the powers that be...but apparently not Blair.  These children are human beings, they are a part of my community and the color of their skin is fine.  They are fine just the way they are...they add diversity and excitement to my community.

There was a protest last Saturday with a rather large turn out...because not everyone in this community thinks that cultural diversity is a bad thing.  Blair was fired from his radio job, the school apologized (and there's been talk of restoring the childs face to its original color) and there's a petition going around asking for the resignation of Blair from the city council.

I respect that in America everyone has a right to their opinion and I'm not sure what the best way of going about this would have been for Blair...but this got a lot of national attention, and there was a collective cringe from more than a few of the people that live here.  I am proud to live in a place where people can gather together, where people can talk and express themselves...and best of all?  I'm proud to live in a community that has been made more beautiful by five murals scattered around the town reminding me that this is a beautiful place in more ways than one.

Good Job Mural Mice!