The inspiration for this mural was the awesome kids of the old Scheffer Community Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The old building was torn down and rebuilt. The new building has been renamed "Frogtown Community Center." The City of Saint Paul brought me on to create a mural for the Rec Check room in the new building.
Before Scheffer was demolished, I got a chance to meet the staff and the kids who used it. It was important to learn more about the old Rec Check room, the community center, and the patrons. So, I held an art session with the kids in that space with the help of the staff. I asked them the following questions:
1) What's one thing you like about Scheffer Community Center?
2) What's one thing you use the Rec Check room for?
3) What's an animal that best represents you? Why?
4) What do you want to be when you grow up?
5) What's one thing you like about Frogtown?
6) Envision ten years from now; how do you see Frogtown? What kind of things do you want to see differently? What does a vibrant, beautiful Frogtown look like to you?
2) What's one thing you use the Rec Check room for?
3) What's an animal that best represents you? Why?
4) What do you want to be when you grow up?
5) What's one thing you like about Frogtown?
6) Envision ten years from now; how do you see Frogtown? What kind of things do you want to see differently? What does a vibrant, beautiful Frogtown look like to you?
I then asked them to pick one of their answers and paint a picture of it. Once completed, they shared their paintings and what the painting meant to them. After that, they could either keep their artwork or give them to me. I was lucky to receive a few of those gems.
Those kids and their responses were the inspiration for the mural. I hope I've captured them in this mural, from what they love to what they aspire to be. As the new Frogtown Community Center starts to open up again amidst this pandemic and social unrest, I am reminded of one response from the session.
"I want to see a better town and people being better friends."
I think we can all find a little way to be better friends and better our community, and a place like the Frogtown Community Center offers us a chance to come together to do just that.