CARLYLE — For a number of years, I have been looking at the north wall of the Carlyle Memorial Hall, bothered by its lack of appeal and its very poor condition.
In the middle of April, I finally came up with a watercolor proposal of what I could possibly do to rectify the situation. I presented this to the town council and wondered if they would allow me to paint and install a mural, asking only that they cover the cost of materials I would need to complete the project. I had to get approval as well from Levi Chatterson in the barber shop for going over his windows.
We came to a compromise by making a door that would be open during his business hours, allowing light into the shop and at the same time having his business advertisement visible, with just the mural in view when closed. The town gave their approval, after which I went about designing the artwork and ordering materials.
I was very fortunate in that I received essential help with a place to be able to paint large portions indoors, which the Â鶹´«Ã½AVern Plains Co-op offered with the back of their old store on Main Street. Moose Mountain Woodworks ordered in the 16 sheets of half-inch waterproof MDF and made all the precision cuts on their CNC panel machine. Davin Faber with Faber's Electric offered the use of their scissor lift, which of course was the only safe way to install the battens and mural panels. Thank you all so much for making this project possible.
It took approximately 20 days to create the proposal, plan sizes, order materials, prepare the room for painting and prime two coats on both sides of all the sheets. The actual painting of the scene took 16 days and another five days to prepare the wall with battens and fix old window frames.
Installation only took one day, plus three more to clear coat and for final touchups.
I estimate having put well over 300 hours into the project, but they were, for the most part, very enjoyable hours. I believe most people would agree that it was time well spent.
Lastly, a big thank you to Shannon Klatt, Benny Can, Jesse Twietmeyer, Cary Chatterson and of course to my wife Dianne for their help when needed.
