Would-be Michelangelos: come out Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to the 46th Street Mural Project and help make the wall under Aurora beautiful in this first “Community Painting Day.”

Sign up on the Google docs spreadsheet.

Painting began in a few weeks ago.

UPDATE: Paint is up on the wall now!

Photo credit: Linda Clifton

The 46th Street mural that will grace the portal to Fremont and Wallingford has been sketched onto the wall that runs under Aurora Avenue, and painting is scheduled to begin today.

Artist Todd Lown needed to alter his design to accommodate trolley bus lines that run along N. 46th St. The design originally filled the whole space on the left side of the picture below.

“We like the way the redesign turned out and actually think that the irregularity of the top edge has made the overall design more dynamic,” Patricia Hopper, Project Manager of the Public Art Program in the Mayor’s office, wrote in the approval letter.

Follow the progress on the mural on the project’s Facebook page.

Our sister site, My Wallingford, posted this story today:

The wait is over. We now know which of three designs will grace the portal to both Wallingford and Fremont on N. 46th Street under Aurora Ave. Here’s the announcement from the 46th Street Mural Street Project, with visualizations of how the underpass will look when the mural is completed this summer. See Todd Lown’s submission here.

Todd Lown’s design will brighten the Aurora Avenue underpass at North 46th Street in Seattle, chosen by consensus at the 46th Street Mural Project Steering Committee meeting May 5. Lown was one of three finalists selected by the committee to submit designs this spring.
Todd Lown–mural detail, east of underpass

“This was no snap decision. Quite the contrary,” said Steering Committee member Gerald Diamond. “Volunteers first set up and conducted an online survey, constructed poster boards and placed them in clubs and schools for voting in both Wallingford and Fremont. They read input from emails to help evaluate each artwork and spent many volunteer hours in comparing the merits of each submission.”

Todd Lown–mural detail, underpass

“We gathered nearly 1000 votes in our advisory polling,” Steering Committee secretary Linda Clifton said, “with over 800 responding to our online survey, and many more on the poster boards at Wallingford Boys and Girls Club, Hamilton Middle School, BF Day Elementary, Kapka, Not A Number, Alphabet Soup and the Fremont Village Fair at Fremont Abbey.”

Todd Lown–mural detail, west wall

[Read more →]

The 46^th Street Mural Project invites residents of Wallingford and Fremont and users of the N. 46th Street underpass to help select the final design for the 300-foot mural beneath Aurora Avenue North. Click on the link to guide you through slide  shows with full details for each of final 3 designs and to vote.

Todd Lown and Kristin Ramirez are 2 of the finalists. Here is the selection from the third finalist, Susan Brown:

On May 5, the project’s Steering Committee will make the final selection, subject to the City of Seattle’s design review approval. Construction is scheduled for summer 2010, with a public dedication in August.

The call for artists to design the 46th Street Mural Project has been narrowed down to three finalists.  On Tuesday, March 2, the community is invited to meet artists Susan Brown, Todd Lown and Kristen Ramirez at an open house where they will each share their ideas for a mural to brighten the underpass under Highway 99 (Aurora Ave) at 46th Street.              (Logo by Bob Suh)

The project received an award from the Department of Neighborhoods’ Small and Simple Projects Fund in January.  Some guerrilla art appeared on Thursday afternoon, reminding people of the project that is slated to begin this summer.  The hand-painted signs mark the area near where the mural will be created.

(Photo by Linda Clifton)

Tuesday’s meeting to meet the 46th Street Mural Project finalists is at the Fremont Abbey (4272 Fremont Ave) from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and will also be an opportunity for the artists to hear what the community would like to see.  Light refreshments will be provided by Lighthouse Roasters and Marketime.  For more information and updates on the project, visit their Facebook page.  (Thanks to Kirby for the photos!)

A project that recently received a Small and Simple Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the City of Seattle is seeking an artist(s) to design a mural for a wall that literally bridges the neighborhoods of Fremont and Wallingford.  The 46th Street Mural Project is looking for a design that will ”bring a positive visual message to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists traveling under Highway 99 (Aurora Ave.) at N. 46th St.” 

The wall is located on the north side of the underpass at N. 46th St. and Aurora Ave N.  The space is described as ”a long wall divided in to 3 sections that taper on both east and west ends– mural design also to include 9 columns that stand in front of the mural wall”. 

• Dimensions–approx. 4500 sq. ft. total (see pictures + diagram)
• West section: approx.1000 sq. ft.
• Middle section: approx.1300 sq. ft.
• East section: approx.1200 sq. ft.
• 9 columns: approx. 100 sq. ft. ea.

Once a design is selected, Urban Artworks will serve as project manager and do the actual painting of the mural.  At this time, the 46th Street Mural Project is only looking for an artist to design the wall.

Professional artists with previous experience creating outdoor murals are preferable, but all may apply. Artist will be required to be present at the community meeting (early in the process) and dedication (at the completion of the mural) unless distance is prohibitive. If this occurs, an alternative plan will be discussed with the 46th Street Mural Project Steering Committee. The artist must be available for consultation pertaining to the execution of their design throughout the process.  

More information and specifics about the selection process can be found on the group’s Facebook page.  Artist applications are due by February 19.  Anyone interested in applying should submit work samples, resume and references to 46thstmural@gmail.com.  The project is slated to begin in May.