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WATERVILLE — Judy Mielke brushed green paint on to the side of a Waterville shop Saturday.
She was filling in a violin on a music-themed mural, part of a community art project.
It wasn’t the first mural Mielke has had a hand in, which she said is a fun thing to point out to friends.
“I can tell people I helped with this one and this one,” she said.
The wall at One Little Shirt Shop is one of four completed or in-the-works murals made possible by a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council. The Waterville Arts and Recreation Council applied for the funds, which are from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund appropriated by the Minnesota Legislature.
Flooding earlier this year delayed the projects, but the first to be completed was inside Davis Marketplace. Painted by Heidi Ellis and Kelly Stanton-Nutt, it depicts a summer lake scene.
Next up are butterfly wings painted by Stanton-Nutt on weatherproof panels. Currently getting readied at the Make It, Waterville shop, they’ll end up on a downtown building owned by the Karackes family.
One Little Shirt Shop’s mural is the third in the grant series. Crista Bohlmann, who co-owns the business with husband, Tom Little, said the design came out of their love for music. Both are musicians, and Bohlmann teaches violin lessons in the shop.
Najorie Lacy (front), Besa Regan (below) and Jack Regan (above) work on a music-themed mural project on the side of One Little Shirt Shop.
After the city’s horrific flooding, Bohlmann said, the mural project was a positive for the community. When approached about the mural idea, the couple figured their building was a good canvas for it.
“It has some visibility and is an easy building to work on,” Little said. “You don’t need ladders. We might continue on the rest of the side.”
The final mural, by Brady Fischer and Patty Salmon, will end up at Brady’s Promotional Gifts. Salmon, owner of Make it, Waterville and the Waterville Chamber of Commerce president, previously had a mural painted on the back of her building in 2021 through another Prairie Lakes grant.
That mural, designed by Mary Walchuk, is a celebration of the building and city’s history. Like the mural Saturday, painting it was a community project, with Mielke among those participating.
Make It, Waterville added a mural on the back of its building in 2021 through a grant. Waterville has four more murals either completed or in the works as part of a new grant to the Waterville Arts and Recreation Council.
The four newer murals came from the first grant secured by the local arts council, Salmon said. Adding them to the community means a lot to her, as it brings together her love for art and the city.
“I have a background in art and my dad’s side of the family has been in Waterville since the 1860s,” she said. “It’s combining this small town with my passion for art. It just makes my heart happy to see this flourish.”
The arts council is also using the grant in other ways. During the Bullhead Days summer festival they brought in Rince Nua Irish Dance for a cultural presentation, and later this month have an ice sculpture planned for Waterville’s Holiday Magic on Main event.
“All these activities together highlight the importance art can have in a community,” Salmon said. “It has an economic impact and adds vibrancy.”
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