Rural Action
19627 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 157
Trimble, OH 45782

phone: 740-767-4938
FAX: 740-767-4957

E-mail Rural Action:
info@ruralaction.org

E-mail Arts and Heritage
raarts@frognet.net

Recent Announcements:
Athens Youth Mural
Community Toolbox Project

About the project

TEAM Athens County is an organization dedicated to reducing underage drinking in conjunction with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services board (317 Board) of Athens, Hocking and Vinton Counties. Through a Drug-Free Community Coalitions Grant from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, TEAM Athens County is developing professional outdoor murals in four Athens County communities. We are doing the project in partnership with Rural Action, an organization that has developed successful murals in several southeast Ohio communities. We would like to introduce you to our project and answer a few frequently asked questions. If you have other questions, please contact Shelly or Svea at 593-3177.

Who designed the mural?
A group of Athens youth has been working since December on the project. In the process, they have learned leadership skills, provided activities for other youth, and learned tools for living healthy and safe lives.

What happens if the mural is graffitied?
After the mural is painted it will be coated with a graffiti block. Any graffiti will be washed off immediately and the bock reapplied. Rural Action has had few problems with the other murals they have developed. The communities, especially youth, are very supportive of them. TEAM Athens County will watch over the mural during Halloween and other times when it might be at risk.

Why was the Stimson site chosen?
We have received overwhelming support from the community for the Stimson retaining wall site. The wall is physically well suited for a mural and located where many people will have an opportunity to enjoy it.

How long will the mural last, and who will maintain it?
The mural will be in place at least 10 years. Rural Action will maintain the mural.

Who will paint the mural?
Athens city youth will paint the mural, under the direction of a professional mural artist. Team Athens County will work with the city of Athens to make sure that all safety precautions are taken during the painting, It will take about a month to complete.

What are the benefits to the community?
The mural will be a symbol of Athens teenagers and reflect our community's positive relationship with our youth. It will enhance one of the key entrances to the city. Athens will become part of a "Mural Tour" throughout southeast Ohio, increasing tourism and benefiting the economy.

Who do I contact to get other teen Involved In the painting?
Call TEAM Athens County at 593-3177 or Rural Action at 767-4938.

This drawing is a conceptual representation and not a finished, site-specific design. The image represents the basic elements that the teens wish to have represented in their mural as a result of some three months of planning and facilitated discussion. A scale drawing of the final mural design will be completed and submitted to the appropriate officials upon approval of a site.

The wall will be painted black from the center graduating to a dark blue with the blue fading off at each end. Silhouettes of the teens will appear as "cut-outs" on this dark field revealing a mandala hidden beneath. The silhouettes will appear in various positions-taking advantage of the slope of the hill. In gesture, some will be working together to create a "window" central to the wall where, (through their cut-out silhouettes) they reveal the brilliant reflective center of the mandala. In contrast, other silhouettes on the wall will be sitting, talking, dancing---hanging out. What is revealed beneath their silhouettes is part of the mandala, but it is the tail end which fades off into a color field. The subtle message is that the more interesting and vibrant silhouettes are those engaged in cooperative activity.

The mandala was chosen to symbolically represent the experiences, perspectives and feelings of the teens. Traditionally used in meditation as a source for finding focus and meaning, the mandala form has been used for centuries in many cultures.

The teens are very interested in conveying a symbolic message---one that speaks to people in a different way each time they look at it. They want to honor the multicultural experience of growing up in Athens and felt the mandala was the best tool to draw people together without words.

As a tool for communication it is very powerful because it is comprised of concentric rings radiating from a center point. The symbolism of eternity (a shape without beginning or end) combines with a form (the circle) central to our entire existence---from the molecular level to the rotation of the planets.

The center of the mandala, which is within a very radiant "eye-like" ring, is broken mirrored-glass which has been grouted (safely) into a circular shape. The reflection is distorted---directly effecting the way you see things---the message of the mural. The rings of the mandala each have symbolic meaning to the teens. Some rings represent the elements---earth, wind, fire, water---and others, like a ring of Athens Brick, represent what they value about the heritage of the place they live in.

Typically, the mandala has four entrances or exits, that may be associated with the four directions. These are symbolically represented by the four sets of hands extended to create the space to see the mandala's center. As teens they wish to be immortal---part of why we are preserving the exact "them" in silhouette forms. But beyond that, they have chosen the human form as a symbol to represent humanity. Their gestures speak of cooperation, of tolerance, and of their collective ability to reveal a "window to think through."