Bluff View Community Garden Mural
Years ago, when I worked in community development through the arts, my boss often had to temper my immature
impatience and haste. She always had some maxim at the ready: “Process not product is paramount,” was an
alliterative favorite, as was, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Perhaps the participants of a local community project intoned similar phrases to themselves a few times over the
summer of 2010. For the process of producing the vibrant new mural adjacent to the Bluff View Community Garden in
Red Wing’s East End occasionally must have felt as challenging as a marathon. The fact that it took a mere six
months, from inception to dedication, is a tribute to the commitment of all concerned.
The original plan, hatched by energetic seventy-four-year old AmeriCorps volunteer, Lois Burnes, was to paint colorful
signs at both of Red Wing’s community gardens. The Bluff View gardeners were unenthusiastic about this, but when
they pointed out the nearby Public Works building to Burnes and professional artist Art Kenyon, the idea of a mural on
the side of the wall overlooking the garden took off. “I thought the wall made a nice backdrop to the garden, “ says
Kenyon, the mural’s artistic consultant, “but it was in terrible shape!”
With her customary mix of charm and determination, and recruiting supporters along the way, Burnes negotiated her
way through the necessary city approval process. She went on to secure grant funding and numerous donations. And
as for the wall, the City’s Public Works Department stepped in to power-wash the extremely dirty surface. They also
cut and attached donated plywood over the recessed windows to provide a level painting surface. “The Public Works
guys are a great asset to the community”, says Kenyon, “and do a lot behind the scenes like this, that’s not seen or
appreciated.”
Funding set and design finalized, Burnes and Kenyon went to Owatonna in late April to select the grant-awarded paint.
Kenyon wasn't feeling that great, and two days later, the reason why became apparent, when he underwent an
emergency triple bypass operation. His surgery notwithstanding, Kenyon and Burnes were ready to go in early
summer, having lined up volunteers from the East End neighborhood, Art Reach and elsewhere. And now things
really heated up. Literally. One of the hottest, most humid summers in decades coincided with the mural painting
schedule. To make matters worse, the site was in full sun all day until about 5pm and was brutally hot. Ever an
optimist, Kenyon remarks that, at least, “The paint dried really fast!” He's amazed and clearly proud that, despite the
fierce temperatures and energy-sapping humidity, “Very few of the helpers bailed out.” He does admit - understatedly
- that “the sheer physicality was a little challenging.” Indeed, Kenyon and Burnes kept a surreptitious eye on each
other during the heat-filled days: she because of his recent major surgery (“He wasn't supposed to be climbing
ladders!”), and he because of the heat-stroke she suffered one ferociously hot day.
Perhaps the heat had something to do with the problem the mural workers encountered one day. Transferring
Kenyon's plan, on which one inch equaled three feet on the mural surface, the volunteers drew a grid on the wall with
large carpenter pencils. Thirteen-year old Alice Bygd (a super-dedicated volunteer, who clocked up more hours than
anyone other than Kenyon and Burnes) recalls, “We got halfway down the wall before we realized we'd made a mistake
and measured a two foot grid, instead of three!”
It was by no means all heat and difficulties, however, and there were some charming moments. Some sparrows, for
example, had taken up residence, and were raising their babies, in a small hole created by an old dangling light fixture
on the wall. Once the fixture was removed, the indignant birds would peer down at the painters from the building's roof,
or comment noisily on the action from a nearby tree. The youth volunteers, who had already insisted that Kenyon's
oversized fruit and vegetable design include sunflowers (mirroring, as he says, the “really cool ones” in the adjacent
community garden), now suggested that the territorial birds be immortalized in the mural. And so they are, pictured
happily in their nest, close by its original site in the hole.
Despite the physical and meteorological challenges, after 190 volunteer hours, the colorful 121x 8ft mural was
completed in time for its dedication in mid-August, an event attended by an appreciative crowd of East Enders,
volunteers, City officials and others. Musician Joe Lommel, who was invited to play accordion at the ceremony, was
even inspired to pen special song lyrics for the occasion (see below).
So, product completed and a dreary building revitalized, what of the process? Kenyon has this to say: “Kids generally
like slopping paint around, but I was impressed that this group was just as interested in the mechanics and
mathematics of transfer [from plan to wall]. I remember a nine-year old boy with his ruler out, concentrating hard on
measuring the grid space. This group was as interested in the process as much as the finished product.”
For volunteer Alice Bygd, the best part of working on the project was “meeting Art and Lois.” In addition to “getting a
great sun tan on the backs of my legs” (all-important to a teen), Bygd knows that she also gained confidence by her
involvement. She believes that “people will go out of their way to see the mural, “ and enthusiastically recommends to
anyone hesitant about engaging in a similar project, “Go for it!”
Kenyon readily admits that after his first mural (a Red Wing sesquicentennial project involving about two hundred
people), “I thought I'd never do a mural again.” Relenting on that, however, he went on to complete murals at the Red
Wing campus of the Minnesota State College-SE Technical and at St Joseph's Catholic church, and has become the
city's de facto expert on the subject. “I got hooked on it. ….There's a certain energy in getting people to work
together, “ he says. This latest mural involved about twenty-five to thirty kids (of whom about eight were what Kenyon
calls, “hardcore regulars”), along with some adults. “What was interesting for me was the number of people from the
neighborhood – kids on bikes, people walking past – who dropped by,” he remarks.
Burnes was happy that the older kids “were great mentors for the younger ones and developed leadership skills,” as
indeed she had envisaged in initiating this project as the culmination of her Americorps experience. Of that experience
she says, “I had been looking for something with a civic twist in my hometown” (she and her late husband had
previously volunteered in Egypt). Assigned, with another Americorps volunteer to Colvill Family Center, on East Fifth
Street, she was pleased to be able to use her background and experience in working with young children. “Being at
Colvill Family Center,” she says, “I got a real feel for the area, the residents. Some of the local parents gave so much
to the Center [as volunteers].” And so Burnes, herself a similarly inspiring example of an engaged citizen, was more
than delighted to be able to carry out her Americorps community project in this very same neighborhood and to leave
behind an attractive addition to Red Wing's public art.
A footnote on the birds: the evening after the mural dedication, I passed the site, noting the quiet contrast to the previous evening's buzz
of activity there. A flash of wings caught my attention, as a sparrow (I like to believe one of the displaced original pair) flew out of the hole
in the wall it had already reclaimed.
Written by Jo Seton, September 2010
“Hoe-Hoe-Hoe – The Garden Song”
Lyrics by Joe Lommel, to the tune of 'The Beer Barrel Polka.” Written and performed August 16, 2010 at the
dedication of the Bluff View Community Garden Mural. (First verse is the same as the original)
There's a garden, what a garden, only happy faces bloom here -
And there's never any room there,for a worry or a gloom there.
Oh we painted on the wall there, Art Kenyon helped us do it -
These bright and cheery colors will help our garden grow!
Every neighbor has a little plot and it's fun to plant the seed you bought -
There's lots of carrots, beans and peas, say would you turn on that faucet please?
There's zucchini, okra and Swiss chard – this beats mowing the grass in your backyard!
To top it off there's all these flowers, they make you want to stay for hours!
Chorus:
Let's plant some peppers – red ones and green ones will do
I'm not fond of spinach, but they say it IS good for you.
Beets! Squash! Tomatoes! Onions, kohlrabi and dill –
Now's the time to pick some sweet corn-
Hey, this gard'ning is a THRILL!
impatience and haste. She always had some maxim at the ready: “Process not product is paramount,” was an
alliterative favorite, as was, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Perhaps the participants of a local community project intoned similar phrases to themselves a few times over the
summer of 2010. For the process of producing the vibrant new mural adjacent to the Bluff View Community Garden in
Red Wing’s East End occasionally must have felt as challenging as a marathon. The fact that it took a mere six
months, from inception to dedication, is a tribute to the commitment of all concerned.
The original plan, hatched by energetic seventy-four-year old AmeriCorps volunteer, Lois Burnes, was to paint colorful
signs at both of Red Wing’s community gardens. The Bluff View gardeners were unenthusiastic about this, but when
they pointed out the nearby Public Works building to Burnes and professional artist Art Kenyon, the idea of a mural on
the side of the wall overlooking the garden took off. “I thought the wall made a nice backdrop to the garden, “ says
Kenyon, the mural’s artistic consultant, “but it was in terrible shape!”
With her customary mix of charm and determination, and recruiting supporters along the way, Burnes negotiated her
way through the necessary city approval process. She went on to secure grant funding and numerous donations. And
as for the wall, the City’s Public Works Department stepped in to power-wash the extremely dirty surface. They also
cut and attached donated plywood over the recessed windows to provide a level painting surface. “The Public Works
guys are a great asset to the community”, says Kenyon, “and do a lot behind the scenes like this, that’s not seen or
appreciated.”
Funding set and design finalized, Burnes and Kenyon went to Owatonna in late April to select the grant-awarded paint.
Kenyon wasn't feeling that great, and two days later, the reason why became apparent, when he underwent an
emergency triple bypass operation. His surgery notwithstanding, Kenyon and Burnes were ready to go in early
summer, having lined up volunteers from the East End neighborhood, Art Reach and elsewhere. And now things
really heated up. Literally. One of the hottest, most humid summers in decades coincided with the mural painting
schedule. To make matters worse, the site was in full sun all day until about 5pm and was brutally hot. Ever an
optimist, Kenyon remarks that, at least, “The paint dried really fast!” He's amazed and clearly proud that, despite the
fierce temperatures and energy-sapping humidity, “Very few of the helpers bailed out.” He does admit - understatedly
- that “the sheer physicality was a little challenging.” Indeed, Kenyon and Burnes kept a surreptitious eye on each
other during the heat-filled days: she because of his recent major surgery (“He wasn't supposed to be climbing
ladders!”), and he because of the heat-stroke she suffered one ferociously hot day.
Perhaps the heat had something to do with the problem the mural workers encountered one day. Transferring
Kenyon's plan, on which one inch equaled three feet on the mural surface, the volunteers drew a grid on the wall with
large carpenter pencils. Thirteen-year old Alice Bygd (a super-dedicated volunteer, who clocked up more hours than
anyone other than Kenyon and Burnes) recalls, “We got halfway down the wall before we realized we'd made a mistake
and measured a two foot grid, instead of three!”
It was by no means all heat and difficulties, however, and there were some charming moments. Some sparrows, for
example, had taken up residence, and were raising their babies, in a small hole created by an old dangling light fixture
on the wall. Once the fixture was removed, the indignant birds would peer down at the painters from the building's roof,
or comment noisily on the action from a nearby tree. The youth volunteers, who had already insisted that Kenyon's
oversized fruit and vegetable design include sunflowers (mirroring, as he says, the “really cool ones” in the adjacent
community garden), now suggested that the territorial birds be immortalized in the mural. And so they are, pictured
happily in their nest, close by its original site in the hole.
Despite the physical and meteorological challenges, after 190 volunteer hours, the colorful 121x 8ft mural was
completed in time for its dedication in mid-August, an event attended by an appreciative crowd of East Enders,
volunteers, City officials and others. Musician Joe Lommel, who was invited to play accordion at the ceremony, was
even inspired to pen special song lyrics for the occasion (see below).
So, product completed and a dreary building revitalized, what of the process? Kenyon has this to say: “Kids generally
like slopping paint around, but I was impressed that this group was just as interested in the mechanics and
mathematics of transfer [from plan to wall]. I remember a nine-year old boy with his ruler out, concentrating hard on
measuring the grid space. This group was as interested in the process as much as the finished product.”
For volunteer Alice Bygd, the best part of working on the project was “meeting Art and Lois.” In addition to “getting a
great sun tan on the backs of my legs” (all-important to a teen), Bygd knows that she also gained confidence by her
involvement. She believes that “people will go out of their way to see the mural, “ and enthusiastically recommends to
anyone hesitant about engaging in a similar project, “Go for it!”
Kenyon readily admits that after his first mural (a Red Wing sesquicentennial project involving about two hundred
people), “I thought I'd never do a mural again.” Relenting on that, however, he went on to complete murals at the Red
Wing campus of the Minnesota State College-SE Technical and at St Joseph's Catholic church, and has become the
city's de facto expert on the subject. “I got hooked on it. ….There's a certain energy in getting people to work
together, “ he says. This latest mural involved about twenty-five to thirty kids (of whom about eight were what Kenyon
calls, “hardcore regulars”), along with some adults. “What was interesting for me was the number of people from the
neighborhood – kids on bikes, people walking past – who dropped by,” he remarks.
Burnes was happy that the older kids “were great mentors for the younger ones and developed leadership skills,” as
indeed she had envisaged in initiating this project as the culmination of her Americorps experience. Of that experience
she says, “I had been looking for something with a civic twist in my hometown” (she and her late husband had
previously volunteered in Egypt). Assigned, with another Americorps volunteer to Colvill Family Center, on East Fifth
Street, she was pleased to be able to use her background and experience in working with young children. “Being at
Colvill Family Center,” she says, “I got a real feel for the area, the residents. Some of the local parents gave so much
to the Center [as volunteers].” And so Burnes, herself a similarly inspiring example of an engaged citizen, was more
than delighted to be able to carry out her Americorps community project in this very same neighborhood and to leave
behind an attractive addition to Red Wing's public art.
A footnote on the birds: the evening after the mural dedication, I passed the site, noting the quiet contrast to the previous evening's buzz
of activity there. A flash of wings caught my attention, as a sparrow (I like to believe one of the displaced original pair) flew out of the hole
in the wall it had already reclaimed.
Written by Jo Seton, September 2010
“Hoe-Hoe-Hoe – The Garden Song”
Lyrics by Joe Lommel, to the tune of 'The Beer Barrel Polka.” Written and performed August 16, 2010 at the
dedication of the Bluff View Community Garden Mural. (First verse is the same as the original)
There's a garden, what a garden, only happy faces bloom here -
And there's never any room there,for a worry or a gloom there.
Oh we painted on the wall there, Art Kenyon helped us do it -
These bright and cheery colors will help our garden grow!
Every neighbor has a little plot and it's fun to plant the seed you bought -
There's lots of carrots, beans and peas, say would you turn on that faucet please?
There's zucchini, okra and Swiss chard – this beats mowing the grass in your backyard!
To top it off there's all these flowers, they make you want to stay for hours!
Chorus:
Let's plant some peppers – red ones and green ones will do
I'm not fond of spinach, but they say it IS good for you.
Beets! Squash! Tomatoes! Onions, kohlrabi and dill –
Now's the time to pick some sweet corn-
Hey, this gard'ning is a THRILL!
