COMMUNITY MURAL
New life coming for Ed Council building
By Travis Moshier Endeavor News

Coudersport residents with a flair for art will get an opportunity to show their skills when a mural project begins on the Third Street side of the Penn York Building. Owned by Mike Menard, the building also houses the county's Education Council.

Coudersport residents will get to try their hand as artists this summer by helping paint a mural on the Third Street side of the Potter County Education Council building, facing the Coudersport Post Office.

The mural will consist of two parts. The lower portion will be made up of tiles that people can paint to reflect what Coudersport means to them, and the upper portion will be a painting, explained project head Sarah Batson.

Mike Minard, owner of the building, had talked about doing something with the side of the building for several years. The idea for the project was originally based as a school project, but the necessity for scaffolding changed the plans, said Batson, who is an art teacher at the Coudersport High School.

It then became a community project, something those involved believe will be a way pull people together to work toward a common goal, she said.

The mural won't be just a few artists' painting. Although Judy Yaggie, a local artist, is creating the model drawing, anyone interested in helping when the paint hits the brick is welcome, Batson said.

Skills with the brush aren't the only way residents can help, as buckets, brushes, tarps and other supplies as well as things like snacks for those working will also be appreciated, she said.

The mural itself will be composed of scenes that relate the history of Coudersport, with individual themes including nature, Native Americans, early settlers and farming. A single storyteller will be the centerpiece of the mural, symbolizing generations of storytellers with the stories surrounding him or her, Batson said pointing out that the drawing was not completed yet.

The need for historic themes and the colors of the paints used are dictated by ordinances, as the building lies within Coudersport's historic district.

Batson said that the group working on the project hadn't encountered any real problems caused by the ordinance. The one area of concern is that her paint supplier had not heard of the colors on the allowed-color pallet.

The younger generation involved in the project was also disappointed by the ordinance, she said, as they were imagining a bright mural that would stand out.

That generation will be heavily involved in the project in the form of Student Art For Others, an organization that was developed to handle the second portion of the mural project, Batson explained.

The tiles will stretch the length of the mural and rise about six feet up the wall, low enough that students will be able to arrange the different sized tiles without the use of ladders or scaffolding, she said.

The tile portion of the mural will allow amateurs and experienced artists to add their own piece to a mural that will become part of the town's history. Anyone who can move a paint brush will be able paint a picture describing what Coudersport means to him or her, Batson said.

Before the scaffolding can go up and the paint goes on, the borough council must approve the image and the colors used. Batson said the group plans to present the drawing to the council at their April meeting if things are in order by then. The mural will be painted over the summer.

Anyone interested in helping with the project or painting a tile may contact Batson through the high school office.

More ways to help will be coming up in the next few months, Batson said, as fundraising events are already being planned. The group is waiting for the drawing to be finalized before seriously promoting raising funds for the project.

Some funding has already been awarded from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts and a grant through the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor program, which was awarded thanks to the work of the Potter County Fine Arts Council, she said.

"We've gotten nothing but positive support from the community," Batson said.