Baileys Harbor Mural Update

Emma Toft is included in a section of the Baileys Harbor mural.

“The Baileys Harbor Community Mural Project (BHCMP) has achieved twenty percent of funding for Phase One,” according to Nancy Rafal, project coordinator. The project was recently awarded a Raibrook Foundation grant, which will go toward compensation to the project artist, Ram Rojas.

Rafal expects to have a sign at the mural site adjacent to the Baileys Harbor Marina within the next week. “The sign will have information about the project, how to contribute, and will feature a large sketch of the work,” stated Rafal. A graphic of paintbrushes and colored arrows will depict the progress in fundraising. Several community groups are developing plans for unique funding opportunities.

Rojas has begun work on details of Cana Island, Emma Toft, the Brann Bros Store, and a depiction of Gordy Nelson with his apple peeler. The store stood on the site of the current Nelson’s Shopping Center about a hundred years ago.

The BHCMP has three phases. The first is the largest and encompasses applying special mural panels to the north wall of Nelson’s Shopping Center, priming the panels, and the work of painting a mural 96 feet long by about 22 feet high. This initial phase will be completed in the spring of 2013.

This sketch by Ram Rojas provides a glimpse of how the completed mural may look.

Local contractors including Art Timke, Andrew Herman of Acorn Tree Services, and Matt Tischler have provided equipment used for this phase. Mechanized lifts allowed the panels to be installed over just a couple of days. Scaffolding allows access to the higher portions of the mural for the artist.

Phase Two will raise the level of art to spectacular. Various native animals and plants will be incorporated into the work.

Phase Three is the “dynamic” phase according to Rafal. The artist will return to the site and paint out various features and add new components. This will happen in around 2017 and the piece will continue to renew as long as grants and donations are available. “Funding is the key to the mural’s evolution,” stated Rafal. “We’re always open to fundraising ideas.”

Rafal is available for talks about the mural. Call 920.839.2191 or email [email protected] to arrange a presentation. Persons who wish to contribute to the Baileys Harbor Community Mural Project can do so by making a check payable to Baileys Harbor Historical Society-BHMCP. Send donations to BHHS-BHCMP, c/o Nancy Rafal, PO Box 340, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202.