For an artist who spends almost all her time creating behind a computer screen, this week has been a workout for Melissa Washburn.
Washburn, of Valparaiso, has been on-site bringing her 70-foot mural to life on Jewett Street, just south of Highway Avenue in downtown Highland. Even with her team of five friends and family members working alongside her, she wasn’t expecting it to be quite as big a workout as it’s turned out to be.
As of Thursday afternoon, Washburn and her team had put 60 man-hours into the honeycomb, she said. And while it’ll technically be finished this week, she still has some edging and other touches to finish next week.
“I’ve done big paintings before in college, but they were 7 feet wide, not 70 feet,” Washburn said. “There’s been a lot of up and down on ladders, and I’ve had to pace myself.
“I’m calling it ‘The Mural Diet.'”
Washburn’s mural, the last of three planned for that section of town, incorporates the nature elements of Jessica Haug’s herron mural and Liz Mares’ abstract mural. Her mural, a giant, whimsical honeycomb, lends itself to Mares’ shapes and snags her purples and also uses Haug’s greens and pinks, she said.
Washburn got the idea for a honeycomb, complete with flowers and bees, when she took part in an artist’s residency in Gary’s Miller section last year. There, they were studying plants of the Dunes, but they also learned that bees are much a much more diverse species than one might think.
“Now, the honeycomb comes from the European honey bee, which isn’t native to here, but we learned there are 200 species of native bees (in Northwest Indiana),” Washburn said.
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She then saw the town’s call for art last September and submitted her ideas, she said.
The mural finishes off a plan to liven up that space on Jewett, Redevelopment Department assistant Lance Ryskamp said. The first mural covers a wall of a former body shop; the second covers a wall of Miles Books. Washburn’s, then, covers the space on the eastern wall.
Ryskamp said Redevelopment, along with Highland’s Main Street group, determined the area perfect for beautification.
“We’d hoped to get more public art downtown, and this area was one nice convenient way to get it started,” Ryscamp said. “And it’s worked out really well. Lots of people have been taking selfies there, so they’re really excited about it.”
The third mural will make its official debut during the town’s third annual Festival of the Trails on Saturday afternoon, providing a colorful backdrop for poets and musicians scheduled to perform. Washburn isn’t sure there will be a specific mention of her work, but that’s OK with her.
“I still be there, checking things out,” she said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Festival planned for Saturday
The Town of Highland’s Fesitval of the Trails will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the murals on Jewett Street, east of Kennedy Avenue. Admission is free.