By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
A street mural – that’s street, not building – looks to be one of the more unique aspects of Downtown Decatur Day.
Decatur Main Street is staging the fifth annual event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on Second St. and the Madison St. Plaza.
During the day, local artist Shelby Nower will be painting a mural (see photo) on the crosswalk between Sherwin-Williams and Monster Pizza.
Nower said this week that she’s hoping to get it done in one day since traffic will be blocked off.
“I’m using three paint colors – blue, white, and yellow – and am planning to use 1-2 gallons of each, depending on how well it covers the street,” she said.
Asked about the mural’s durability, Shelby said, “It’s difficult to say exactly. It’s meant to last 1-3 years, but that all relies on how much traffic the road will see, how many people walk on it, how much sun exposure it will have.”
A native of St. Louis who has lived in Decatur for several years, Nower is a muralist and illustrator. She is a graduate of the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis and, as a junior, interned with Greg Mendez, the Decatur sculptor who originated the idea of a sculpture tour here.
Shelby has permanent pieces on display in the Indiana Statehouse and in the President’s office at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.
She continues to help operate the Gallery 40.8 in downtown Decatur.
Though she has worked in several different areas of public art, from sculpture to sign-making, Nower says murals are her specialty.
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