BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- It had to happen. Some well-meaning soul -- a guy like Mel Skinner, for instance -- had to stop, take a long look and say, "Where's Elvis?"
It's true that The King is not on the building. His likeness may be a staple of certain living rooms in Northern Kentucky, but it didn't make the community mural at 812 Russell St.
No matter. Plenty of important figures did.
"This amazes me," says Mr. Skinner, gazing at the side of the Remke administrative building on a recent Saturday. "It's not an eyesore. It's eye-awakening, as far as I'm concerned."
On a wall donated by the company, artists and residents are painting a sprawling portrait of west Covington as they see it today and hope it will look tomorrow. The Covington Community Center is leading the project; participants have included local artists, police officers, kids in the Police Athletic League, families from the John G. Carlisle Community School and members of the Westside Action Coalition.
The mural's focal point is a couple chatting on a big front porch. Around them, a woman fixes windows on an old home, children ride bikes, cats cavort around a tree and flowers soften the sharp angles of the cityscape.
In one corner, a woman with a distinctly country appearance gazes off at distant mountains -- a reference to the Appalachian roots of many Covington residents.
Another telling detail: The one-way street sign painted along an opposite corner. This represents the recent conversion of several west-side streets. The action coalition had called for one-way thoroughfares to cut down on drug-related traffic.
"It's noticeably better," says Mike Burdge, a coalition member who was dabbing highlights on the mural last week.
The art project is a way to build on the coalition's success. Over three days in July, community members came together with four local artists to plan the mural. Their first step was developing a community statement. This is what the group wrote:
"We are a proud people living together in community. Our strength comes from family, friendship, home and from sharing joy, the struggle for health, safety and unity, and an awareness of our history and roots."
With those words as a starting point, residents threw out ideas for the mural. Then the artists -- Kurt Nicaise, Laura Hollis, Peter Jaquish and Lawrie Scharfenberg -- sketched until the rest were satisfied.
Mr. Nicaise has a three-month grant from the Kentucky Arts Council to direct the painting of the final product. Other sponsors are Cinergy, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Fund's Community Arts Fund.
Mr. Nicaise is still looking for volunteers, as each section needs a second coat before winter.
Part of the fun has been chatting with people who stop to watch the progress.
"One guy came by and said, "What is this? Is this MainStrasse?' And I said, "No, it's right here. It's this neighborhood.' And he walked away so happy," says Jean St. John, arts coordinator for the Covington Community Center.
She and the other artists were trained in this kind of community work by Jon Pounds of the Chicago Public Arts Group. They hope to share the process with other organizations in the future.
For more information, call Ms. St. John at 491-2220.
Karen Samples is The Enquirer's Kentucky columnist. Her column appears on Sundays and Thursdays in The Kentucky Enquirer. She can be reached at 578-5584 or email
her at ksamples@enquirer.com
SAMPLES ARCHIVE
