EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first installment of a continuing series of articles on various mural projects around town.
While working on a mural at 110 Central Ave., international artist Danaé Brissonnet recently took a brief break to help bring a different mural to life at nearby David F. Watkins Memorial Park.
With help from Emergent Arts, Brissonnet recruited local teen artists to come to the park, located at 811 Park Ave., on May 7 and 8 and paint a mural under her guidance that features a variety of surreal images like space traveling dogs, mushroom people and a skeleton.
Brissonnet proposed the idea for the project to Mary Zunick, executive director of the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance, "to see if there was a possibility of working with the community," and they later connected with City Director Erin Holliday, executive director of Emergent Arts, and "we made that happen," she told The Sentinel-Record.
"They're pretty on their own," Brissonnet said of the students' ideas. "They went and did some sketches and they talked together, like tried to initiate some conversation between them and like talk about how they can mix their drawing together and when they're ready, they come to the wall and we put the crayon on top of a stick so they can have a little more flow on their drawing and then they can get a bigger image."
The students who participated included Evyn Phillips, Lane Marquez, Alex McIntosh, Anna Moreno, Briceyda Garcia, Davon Davis, Telia Europe, Tykira Danner, Hannah Johnson, Hanna Boone, Danny Asitimbay, Alexandra Pierce, Jay Barrett, Braydon Lappin, Jay James Barrett, Addie Muckleroy, and Mazy Muckleroy.
"So most of them were from Hot Springs High School Art Club, and we had two kids from (Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts) and two home-schooled kids, and a couple of people from the neighborhood who kind of came in and out," Holliday said, noting Brissonnet was the lead artist and artist Jason Botkin, who has been assisting Brissonnet at 110 Central Ave., also helped.
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"I went through and kind of touched up here and there if there was kind of a loose spot, but really I was just here to make the connections and show up with snacks, actually. That was my No. 1 job, to set up the tent and make sure everyone had water and food," Holliday said.
"I think it's amazing. I think it is so fun and weird in all the right ways. A lot of people from the neighborhood were coming by during and were super happy to see it going up. Love the colors, love the energy of the kids, and so far it's been nothing but compliments," Holliday said.
"And I appreciate that the city, the Parks and Trails Department, actually put the panel up and so it is a real partnership between the city and then it's a private individual who commissioned the (110 Central Ave.) mural and then the professional muralists who came and then the schools, so there are a lot of components to make it happen, but at the end of the day it's definitely Danae and the kids that get the credit on this one," she said.
The mural may not remain in the park forever, Holliday said.
"It will be there semi-permanently. The panels are cemented into the ground. But, although it is marine-grade plywood, many years in the future they would be removed if they degrade," she said. "There are no plans to paint over the image or a timeline for removal."
Brissonnet said she was impressed with the talent of the young artists.
"They did a really good job and they were like picking up on techniques really quick, and I like how they worked together. They were really mature and really calm with each other. It was beautiful to see them," she said.
A portion of a new mural at David F. Watkins Memorial Park that was painted by numerous local teens with help from artist Danaé Brissonnet is shown. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Another portion of the new mural at David F. Watkins Memorial Park that was painted by numerous local teens with help from artist Danaé Brissonnet is shown. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record