The mural isn’t completed yet, but when it is finished, it will be another outstanding piece of public art that graces the outside wall of Birchbark Books and Gifts. Some 260 people turned out to help paint the assorted 4-foot by 4-foot mural pieces under the direction of Mila Horak.
In keeping with the existing theme, the new mural that is being placed on the north outside wall of Birchbark Books and Gifts is called “Imagine the Northwoods.” It adjoins the 2016 mural that depicts a young girl resting against a birch tree reading a book.
Plans are to build a mural every summer until the wall is eventually covered.
Funding for the project came from a $1,000 grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, some private donations and a $1,000 grant from the Great Place Project.
In its fourth year, The Great Place Project is a collaborative effort of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s “Moving Matters” program and the Cook County Chamber of Commerce.
Once again North Shore artist Mila Horak led the mural project. About 260 people came to sessions to help paint the panels that make up the large mural, she said.
“I want to especially thank Jim Boyd for all that he has done to make this project possible,” Horak said.
Boyd is the director of the Cook County Chamber of Commerce and a great advocate of the Great Place Project. This year $10,000 was distributed to help pay for 13 projects developed throughout the county.
Earlier this year Boyd described the Great Place Project as a way to “provide small amounts of funding to businesses, organizations, and individuals for creation of high-impact, low-cost great places, small nooks of beauty in the built environment. Great place making comes in many varieties, from public art to seating, and the projects that received funding for 2017 reflect that diversity.”
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