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'Uplifting' mural seeks financial support Artist Krista Hepford shows a three-panel brochure depicting her concept for a mural on the wall at Abbey Carpet on Siskiyou Boulevard. [Photo by John Darling] Thursday May 11, 2017 at 2:00 AM By John Darling For the Tidings Ashland is about to get more public art – a mural on a store far from downtown – and the art has already been approved by the city Public Art Commission and the City Council. Private donors will cover costs of the artwork. The piece, by Ashland artist Krista Hepford, will go on the exterior wall of Abbey Carpet and Floor at 1668 Siskiyou Blvd., where it is visible from the street. It uses stones and found objects, mainly discontinued stock or leftovers from the store, which would otherwise be tossed in the dumpster. These are ceramic, glass and mosaic pieces and she’s asking people which they would prefer. The inviting and mostly non-abstract art features earth tones with two hands reaching to clasp each other, amid various rectangles, one of which is a door. Stones make up the arms. The wall will be colored using concrete stain. Hepford, a former member of the Public Art Commission, petitioned the neighborhood, going door-to-door to get 100 percent approval on the project, which is called “Uplifting.” It’s is a positive message, she notes, to greet motorists coming into town from the south. Too much public art in Ashland, she said, is abstract and she wanted to come up with an image people understand and would register as positive. She has received some funding from the store and started a GoFundMe page with a $5,700 goal. It says the city has placed “disproportionate attention to culture in the center of town while other areas fail to show our town pride.” "The hands, reaching for each other,” she writes, are “a simple, yet elegant display of encouragement that can be interpreted in a number of positive ways: helping someone up who has fallen, asking someone to dance, assisting someone less fortunate, heavenly guidance, etc. In a time where there is so much wrong going on in the world, it's important to put a reminder like this into view.” Branson Chocolates, a few doors down, has donated chocolate bars, showing the art on the label and selling for $5, proceeds from which go to help fund the project. “I feel Ashland is a place where we celebrate the individual spirit — encouraging each other to try, while also supporting each other in our successes and failures. This is evident in the owner-operated businesses, the inventive activities and charitable events in this community, of which I hope this project will be one. 'Uplifting' — It's my one-word definition of Ashland.” A city staff report says she is working with the guidance of professional artist Karen Rycheck and retired local contractor Darryl Meyerhoff. It specifies that the piece becomes part of the city’s public art collection, but the city isn’t responsible for maintaining it. It is exempted from the city sign code because it’s on private property, has been reviewed by the Public Art Commission and approved by the City Council. It will be constructed through the summer. The GoFundMe page says she needs wood, waterproof coating, adhesive, stain, lighting and the use of drills, scaffolding and buckets. The project and details may be viewed at www.gofundme.com/uplifting1. The staff report that resulted in the City Council’s approval is at www.ashland.or.us/SIB/files/030717_Public_Art_Recommendation.pdf. — John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].