Hebron students put artistic work into new town mural
Suarez, 16, and her peers spent part of Monday morning painting what will become a new mural for the town of Hebron, representing its past, present and future, in a project meant to replace an old mural, brighten the town and create a sense of community.
In addition to helping paint the mural, Alex also designed a banner along the bottom of each of the three massive panels that will include crop fields and butterflies, meant for children in the community to paint.
Community members of all ages are invited to help paint the mural from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the old police station, 104 E. Sigler St. Children who paint will be given cookies and balloons.
The mural, once completed, will go on the side of town hall, kitty corner from the place it’s being painted and by the town’s clock tower.
“It’s going to be for everybody to see. It’s going to be weird. What if they don’t like it?” Suarez said, admitting the prospect of public display made her nervous.
Karen Jania, who recently retired as an art teacher at Hebron High School and has been integrally involved in the project with her students, allayed Alex’s fears.
Students began painting the mural in late June but the planning started months before that, said Jania and Jeff Nilsen, who until recently was a member of the town’s redevelopment commission.
The RDC started talking about the mural a couple of years ago, not long after an old mural on the side of a garage at Indiana 231 and Sigler Street, went down with the garage because the structure was deteriorating, Nilsen said.
“There were a lot of requests to bring the art back,” Nilsen said.
When initial discussions of a new mural faltered, Nilsen brought the matter back up in the spring of 2018. He reached out to the high school, which he said has “a great art program,” and connected with Jania.
The mural became a project for Jania’s painting class, and her students did research at the library and historical society before coming up with a draft approved by the RDC, which is funding the project, in the spring.
“We started to talk about what do you see for Hebron. That thread of agriculture will always be part of the town,” she said, adding students also saw the importance of activities for families, as well as strong business and school communities, and appreciation of their small town. “It was a really cool conversation with them.”
Nilsen special-ordered the cement board panels for the mural. Each of the three segments is 4 feet by 8 feet and comes in two pieces. He spent almost four weeks putting eight coats of primer on them and, once the painting is complete in the coming weeks, will coat them with a primer so they last 15 to 20 years.
“It’s to bring community involvement to the town and also, this is just the beginning,” he said, adding he’d like to see additional murals in other parts of town. “This is the start to brighten up the town and show that we do want to beautify Hebron.”
He’s awaiting approval for another element of the mural, a banner with lighting noting that the town was established in 1891 and with the town seal in stainless steel.
Around seven students have been working on painting the mural, Jania said, adding she’s reached out to graduates to pitch in as well, and hopes the painting is complete around mid-August.
Senior Ellie Wagoner, 17, along with Suarez, likes the opportunity to work on her painting skills and be involved in a community project.
“I think it will be really cool since our old mural got taken down, and since we all live here and have been working on it,” she said.
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