A new mural became part of the streets in Clintonville on Saturday. Artist Brenda Lloyd was the winner of a design contest held in by the Clintonville Street Mural Project. The project grew out of the Columbus Public Health Walk mapping project and was led by Clintonville Area Commissioner Robert Wood.
A request for proposals was held last year and the community voted, choosing Lloyd’s tree design.
The mural site of the intersection of Calumet and Crestview Streets, was chosen as nearly 2,000 people walk it each day. It is also next to the Clintonville Community Co-op, as well as on the Clintonville Art Walk sponsored by Columbus Public Health.
Lloyd grew up in Clintonville and now resides in the neighborhood with her own family. As an artist with a concentration in painting, and one who does work as a muralist, the thought of designing the street mural excited her.
“When I thought about what Clintonville means to me, several things came to mind,” says Lloyd. “The friendliness and diversity of the people living here, the old storybook houses, the great old mature trees, the backyard songbirds and wonderfully diverse gardens.”
Once she had the initial thought, her design came together rather quickly over several days.
“We have a great diversity of residents in Clintonville,” she says. “We as a whole are an environmentally aware group and take pride in our gardens, trees and green space, while allowing for individuality in design. The tree symbolized our community and our love for the natural around us, the birds our diversity, our love for our birds, and concern for the environment. The leaves circling the base of the tree stand for future growth and environmentally conscious development in our neighborhood.”
The mural was painted with the help of many volunteers during CrestFest.
Sherwin Williams and Beechwold Hardware donated supplies and additional help was received by the Clintonville Resource Center, Columbus Arts Council, Columbia Gas, and the Clintonville Commission.
“It is very exciting to pull together as a community and make this high traffic area safer for residents,” says Lloyd. “The success of this pilot street mural project may lead to other street murals in high traffic areas around our city.”
For more information on Brenda Lloyd, visit Brendalloydstudios.com.
Photos by Pam Reece.