 All friends, as they worked, there was a constant chatter, and the
three joked, teased and told stories to and about each other.
Adam May, owner and operator of Amp Studios in Mount Pulaski,
told how they came to be creating these murals. He said that Laura
Moore, the children’s minister at Jefferson Street Christian, "was
looking on the Web at children’s rooms, and she saw how colorful
some of them were."
May went on to explain that the move from idea to actual painting
took about six months, as mock-ups of what would be on the walls and
where it needed to be were planned first. Clearly, the planning and
preparation was the lengthiest part of the process, as after just
more than a day of the actual painting, the room was alive with
colors and almost-finished sections.
"It is going a lot faster than I thought," May admitted. Jokingly
he said of one of his partner artists, "When you give Mike (Meyer)
a 3-inch brush, it’s all over."
Meyer currently lives in Mazeppa, Minn., and when asked how he
ended up working on the mural at Jefferson Street, he said, "I came
to work with that man (pointing to May)." Meyer said that his career
as a commercial artist has had him travel "all over," and he has
enjoyed working before with May and the third artist, Scott
"Cornbread" Lindley, who also lives in Mount Pulaski.
May (in picture) gives credit to Meyer for teaching him how to do commercial
painting.
The three now call themselves the Wall Dogs and hope to continue
to do commercial work such as they are doing at Jefferson Street.
May and Lindley were formerly involved with the signage in downtown
Lincoln when they were associated with the Letterheads, the group
that splashed colorful signs throughout the downtown area.
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Meyer said he is looking for a place to live in Mount Pulaski and looks forward
to more projects with his two friends and co-artists.
Lindley says he can’t describe what he does for a living.
"Sometimes I’m an artist," he said. "Sometimes I’m unemployed."
When asked why the three were all working on separate sections
and then moving over to other unfinished walls, May said, "We all
have our skills."
Meyer (pictured here) pointed out an empty bag of Moon Pies on a table full of
paints and pointed at Cornbread as the culprit. Cornbread didn’t
mind and shrugged off the kidding. "They bought me lunch and they
let me sleep in the van if I want," he said.
May, who still operates Amp Studios out of his home in Mount
Pulaski, also teaches art appreciation at Lincoln College, and like
the two others who talked and joked freely during the interview, he
didn’t stop painting for a second.
Preaching minister Dustin Fulton isn’t sure if the murals will be
done by this Sunday, but a great deal, if not all, will greet the
children when they enter the room.
"We're really excited to see the look on the kids' faces the
first time they see the artwork. When they see that the children's
ministry walls speak their language, we think that it will really
help them to know that they are valued here at Jeff Street," Fulton
said.
May finished, "This is what I love to do. I hope this inspires
some minds towards art."
The walls are sure to convey both messages.
[By
MIKE FAK] |
