Art on the wall
Art on the Edge is adding to the newfound energy of midtown Coeur d’Alene by creating a vibrant mural on the south wall of the Idaho Youth Ranch and Anchor House Thrift Store at 811 N. Fourth St. The nonprofit program of St. Vincent de Paul works with at-risk youths on the premise that art is a great tool for learning skills and establishing a positive sense of self, says director Ali Shute.
“It’s our ongoing goal in the next year to do more public art,” Shute said. Art on the Edge collaborated recently with North Idaho College on a three-dimensional piece in Molstead Library based on the Declaration of Human Rights, and is planning a permanent piece for the new Human Rights Center.
Art on the Edge holds weekly classes with residents at Anchor House, a home and accredited school through School District 271, for at-risk youths. The new mural is the brainchild of Kendall Lewis, Art on the Edge program director, and the Anchor House kids. Lewis and noted muralist Jan Wilhelmi wrote a grant securing funding for the project through the Idaho Commission on the Arts, working in collaboration with Idaho Youth Ranch and Anchor House. Work on the mural began May 3 with Wilhelmi as overseer.
The young artists decided to give the mural an arts and culture theme, with the emphasis on music. The mural has a mulitgenerational appeal, representing several different genres. Beginning at the west end of the mural, television personality Ed Sullivan is depicted. Sam, a 15-year-old freshman from Sandpoint, painted Sullivan.
“It gave me something to do,” Sam said. “I did Ed Sullivan, Dizzy Gillespie, and the orangeish background.” He said he’d heard of Sullivan but never saw any of the shows. He was sure his mom knew who Sullivan was.
Rock ‘n’ roll is well represented, with images of guitarist Eric Clapton; The Beatles in a re-creation of the cover of “Abbey Road,” where the group is crossing the now-famous street; the late Janis Joplin; the famous lips and tongue logo of the Rolling Stones; Elvis; and Bono from U2, to name a few. The artists have even included the art from the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” and a colorful flamenco dancer.
Bob, a 17-year-old sophomore, said he really got into the project once he got started. He worked on a depiction of planet Earth, a large peace sign, and several of the musical instruments that grace the mural. He is interested in astronomy and would like to study near-Earth objects.
“This is a part of the service learning project,” Bob said. “We threw out a lot of ideas at the beginning.”
Bob is from this area and is happy to have left a permanent mark on the city.
Josh, 16, from Post Falls, participated because he really likes doing art.
“Miss Wells has told me about the college she went to, and all the art stuff she did there, and I’m thinking about going into art,” Josh said.
He painted the entire portraits of 50 Cent and Eminem, and worked on the peace sign, Elvis, Gwen Stefani, Janis Joplin and musical instruments.
The Miss Wells who Josh refers to is Stacey Wells, an instructional aide at Anchor House, who is also on the board of directors for Art on the Edge. Wells said that there will be a graffiti-free protective coating put the entire mural soon.
Donation jars have been set up at downtown art galleries for Art on the Edge fund-raising, and to help make art lovers aware of the mural and what these talented students are doing.
Take a walk up Fourth Street one of these beautiful summer days, and stop and admire their work.