Art4Polson initiative inspires "pride of place"

Art murals keep cropping up around Polson, thanks to the efforts of Sandpiper Art Gallery and Gifts and a host of volunteers and donors.

Many of those involved were on hand last Wednesday, July 9, to celebrate two new murals at Boettcher Park adorning the restroom and lifeguard building.

Natalie Raffield, coordinator of the gallery’s Art4Polson initiative, worked with children to come up with designs for the restroom project that depict “patterns in nature.” Their fertile imaginations spawned fish, buzzing bees on cherry blossoms, butterflies and lily pads, while young artist Benjamin Craven designed and painted the beloved lake monster “Petra” in shades of green and blue.

Meanwhile, professional artist Karla Martinson painted all four sides of the lifeguard building, transposing images from her vibrant paintings on the concrete walls. A bear, bald eagle, geese and a deer depict iconic Montana wildlife against backdrops that include Flathead Lake and the Narrows.

Martinson, whose popular children’s books are sold in Glacier and Yellowstone parks, said painting the mural was a meditative experience – even when seagulls nabbed the lids from her paint cans. Painting can be a very solitary pursuit, while creating a mural brought her outdoors and gave her “a lot of time to understand how God looks at everything.”

“You have families coming in and out all the time to enjoy the lake,” she said. “And you don't realize how much love is in your community until you’re painting away and you're just listening to how they love and care about each other.”

She also said a park employee told her that vandalism has dropped off since the murals appeared. “He said everybody is doing better at picking up after themselves and really taking better care of the park. I think it just makes people feel loved.”

Raffield echoed that sentiment, noting that park employees have noticed a similar drop in vandalism and graffiti at Sacajawea Park after a mural was painted on the restroom there last year.

She believes the murals “form a pride of place. People actually come to see the murals, so it's an economic boost to our parks.” 

In addition, the artists are paid for their efforts. “We want to put that money back into artists’ pockets because artists are vital to our community,” she said. “They elevate us, they help us tell a different story about who we are and it's a shared language that has no barriers and no discrimination.”

The restroom project also brought children into the equation to help design the mural and wield paintbrushes. Not only was it fun, “it also gets kids off their screens,” Raffield said. “And if they can see something that an artist did well, they can be inspired that it's okay to do art. Art is cool." 

Previous projects this year included a golf-inspired mural on the water and sewer building at the Polson Bay Golf Course by Montana-based artist Luke Orsborne that embodies the spirit of the very popular local pastime.

Next on this summer's agenda, says Raffield, will be a painting on the alley wall adjacent to the Barking Lot in downtown Polson depicting “a dog’s world,” with fanciful images of canines “doing all the things that people do on Flathead Lake.”

“I think it brings people together,” Raffield said of all the community mural-making.

Certainly, last Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting brought lots of people together – more than 35 in all – to admire the murals and celebrate the movement that’s bringing art to public spaces. The long list of people and organizations who are helping make Art4Polson possible include members of the gallery, volunteers, the Polson City Commission and city staff, Ace Hardware, the Polson Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Polson Community Foundation and The Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation, as well as private donors.

There are ample ways for the public to help the Art4Polson initiative continue to thrive. The Sandpiper Gallery will offer donated artwork at significantly reduced prices during its two summer art festivals – the Flathead Lake Art Festival, July  19-20 at Sacajawea Park, and the Courthouse Art Festival, Aug. 9 on the lawn of the Lake County Courthouse.

Artists and patrons can also support the cause through the Small Art 4 Big Art program, where the sale of original small artworks helps fund large-scale public murals.

Visit SandpiperArtGalleryandGifts.com/Art4Polson to learn more or get involved.

    Gang of painters applies paint to the Boettcher Park restroom as part of the Art4Polson initiative. (Courtesy photo)
  

    Young artist Benjamin Craven designed and painted the Flathead Lake monster, Petra, as part of the mural on Boettcher Park's restroom. (Courtesy photo)
  

    The Epperson family – August, Ruby and Isaac – enjoy ice cream at Boettcher Park against the new mural painted on the restroom walls. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Luke Orsborne created the mural on the water and sewer building on the Polson Bay Golf Course as part of the Art4Polson project. (Courtesy photo)