AWAKENING MINDS ART PRESENTS

This mural is dedicated to the 80+ people who helped paint it and countless others who watched, encouraged, and have supported its progress since. 

Inspired by flowers of Ohio, this project was designed by Emily Sullivan. After an approval process through the city of Findlay's Downtown District Review Board, the wall was prepped by Property Analysts (through Good Guys Painting & Epoxy). Emily then painted the outlines for each flower, and community members filled in shapes with a "paint-by-number" technique. When the painting concluded, Super Painters Findlay sealed the wall to preserve it.

"This mural embodied the spirit of the Community Mural Project! From start to finish, collaboration occurred. Due to its high-traffic location, so many people became a part of its process and can claim a sense of pride and ownership of it. I am so proud to be a part of this and to have facilitated a piece of public art that has already inspired so much community spirit and interaction," Emily says of the mural. "Getting a chance to collaborate with all those people was an amazing opportunity, and I won't ever take that memory for granted."

Living in Bowling Green, Ohio, Emily Sullivan has her Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and works in Findlay and surrounding areas for Awakening Minds Art. Hired by AMA in May of 2017, Emily is an instructor and development director for the organization. In her free time, Emily enjoys painting. Visit her Art Page at https://www.facebook.com/emilysullivanart

What does the hashtag #artmakesmeconnected mean? "This mural is such a great example of how public art connects us and strengthens a community. From the beginning review process to the Facebook comments to the random people yelling encouragements out the windows of their cars as they passed me painting, there are hundreds of people who are connected to this mural and connected to each other through it. Over 80 people painted this mural with me. My connection to Findlay is forever changed because of this experience." - Emily Sullivan