Rensselaer Art Walk Day 10

Day ten of the Rensselaer Mural project saw several changes on the retaining wall along the river. I suspect that this part of the project is now finished. The grasshopper that looked very unfinished before now looks much better.

 Text at the west end of the wall thanks funders and names the artists.

The sandhill crane now has two chicks.

The practice wall under the bridge has been cleaned and replaced with a memorial.

 The birds in the alley are nearing completion.

If you look at the wall from an angle, you can see how rough and uneven it is. Painting a picture on a surface like this must be challenging,

The portrait on the wall along SR 114 is already beautiful though it is still unfinished. (In the evening the shadow of the telephone pole mars the image.)

Compare the picture above, taken in the evening, to the picture below, taken midday. The artist is working quickly and said he will finish on Saturday.

Friday saw the start of another mural by Cameron Moberg, this one of a sea turtle.

The South Shore Convention and Visitors Center blog had a post on the murals here.

On Friday morning the Jasper County Tourism Commission met for its July meeting.  The Commission heard follow-up reports for the Wine-a-rita Fun Run and Walk and for a grant given to DeMotte Little League. There was a grant request for a car and motorcycle show sponsored by the KV Music Boosters. The Commission granted the request for $900 but essentially told the presenter that this should be a one-time grant. The Commission wants to restructure its budget for next year to reduce funding for events and festivals, transferring funds to capital projects, which it believes have a bigger impact on drawing people to the County.

A more interesting grant request came from the town manager of Remington and head of Remington's Main Street organization asking for $7500 for a mural project. The Remington Town Council had already approved $7500 for the project. The organizing group will be the Tippecanoe Arts Federation, which is also involved in the Rensselaer mural project. The art work will be near their senior center. Remington may get the mural done this year. The Commission approved the request even though JCEDO may have to ask the County Council to transfer money from one account to another. The success of the Rensselaer project will spur even more mural projects in our area.

Receipts from the inn-keeper tax were down this past June from a year ago. Weather and the bridge work on SR 114 were cited as a cause.

As the meeting ended, I could not resist telling the Commission that the $10,000 that they contributed to the Rensselaer mural project was probably the best investment that they have ever made.