The Legacy of the Hellbender
In 2019, we hired an Italian man goes by the name of Hitnes to lead a training for muralists in and around the Appalachian region. Some good folks in Harlan let us use a building they owned as our canvas. In one weekend in June, Hitnes worked with thirty artist/trainees to put murals on three sides of that building. Hitnes comes out of a graffiti tradition and didn’t do much sketching before he went to painting. He taught his method to the artists in attendance, and they took care of two sides of the building while Hitnes handled the third. They worked with brushes lashed to twelve foot long sticks and they worked fast. The trainees painted fish and turtles and jellyfish and various other aquatic critters, and Hitnes created a hundred-foot-long hellbender salamander with various other red salamanders (and one canary) swirling around it. The artists worked some off pictures from the Internet, some out of their own heads. It was a beautiful project. The results stood from the summer of 2019 until the Spring of 2022, when the city of Harlan acquired the building and tore it down. Rest in power, hellbender and pals. Like all things endangered, you remind us to savor the day and stick together to help each other remember.
-Robert Gipe
In 2019, we hired an Italian man goes by the name of Hitnes to lead a training for muralists in and around the Appalachian region. Some good folks in Harlan let us use a building they owned as our canvas. In one weekend in June, Hitnes worked with thirty artist/trainees to put murals on three sides of that building. Hitnes comes out of a graffiti tradition and didn’t do much sketching before he went to painting. He taught his method to the artists in attendance, and they took care of two sides of the building while Hitnes handled the third. They worked with brushes lashed to twelve foot long sticks and they worked fast. The trainees painted fish and turtles and jellyfish and various other aquatic critters, and Hitnes created a hundred-foot-long hellbender salamander with various other red salamanders (and one canary) swirling around it. The artists worked some off pictures from the Internet, some out of their own heads. It was a beautiful project. The results stood from the summer of 2019 until the Spring of 2022, when the city of Harlan acquired the building and tore it down. Rest in power, hellbender and pals. Like all things endangered, you remind us to savor the day and stick together to help each other remember.
-Robert Gipe
What is the Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest and Who Is It For?
Participants in The Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest will find themselves in a gathering of people deeply involved and invested in expanding the role of art and artists in community development and local economies.
- Visual artists who have never made an outdoor mural to learn the technical skills involved from veteran mural artists;
- People with all levels of experience in mural making to be with one another to trade ideas and experiences and plan future work; and
- Current and future mural makers to engage with experts in other aspects of public art making beyond the art itself—areas like fundraising, working with local government, and community organizations—and connect with national creative placemaking organizations and practitioners.
Participants in The Great Mountain Mural Mega Fest will find themselves in a gathering of people deeply involved and invested in expanding the role of art and artists in community development and local economies.
Registration & ScholarshipsScholarships covering lodging, food, and registration are available. Applications for the scholarship are embedded into the registration link above. All conference attendees should consider applying for a scholarship!
For more information, contact Robert Gipe at robert.gipe@kctcs.edu or 606-620-3913.
For more information, contact Robert Gipe at robert.gipe@kctcs.edu or 606-620-3913.
|
Topics covered in our trainings include:
|
|
