Artists began work on new murals in four downtown Valparaiso locations, with the Valparaiso Creative Council encouraging residents and visitors to witness and, at City Hall, participate in the project.
“We’re really ramping up the arts council,” Mayor Jon Costas said.
The city plans to develop an arts district between the Memorial Opera House and Valparaiso University, he said.
“The creative district is the heart, the pulse of downtown,” Valparaiso Creative Council Executive Director Jessica Corral said.
But that hasn’t stopped the city from sprinkling artwork throughout Valparaiso.
Just north of Vale Park Road near the Valparaiso Family YMCA is the art walk, and about 23 utility boxes throughout the city have artistic wraps, each a different design.
“Arts bring us together, and we need something to bring us together,” Costas said.
About 20 volunteers helped launch mural week on Saturday.
Artists were adding murals on the back walls of Rocket Fizz and Birdie’s Diner, and the west wall of Ivy Boutique.
Each mural is expected to be completed by Aug. 31.
At City Hall, 14-year-old Hutch Wittmer was creating his own artwork.
He comes by his talent honestly. His mother went to art school, and his father doodles during church services, Wittmer said.
“Slowly, over time, I went from drawing in coloring books to making my own coloring books,” he said.
Wittmer showed a prototype of the mural he was creating. “I threw a bunch of characters in. I took time to plan it,” he said.
His father, Ash Wittmer, is proud of his son. “He loves all kinds of art, especially doodle art,” he said. “This doodle art was all over his bedroom at one point.”
The Valparaiso High School freshman also does portraits and other artwork in all kinds of media.
Ryan Cole and his young daughter, Lillian, helped with a collaborative “Valpo Kids Create” mural at City Hall, with Lillian adding purple to flower petals on the metal and painting a rock to put by the strawberries she loves at home. Pink and purple are her favorite colors.
“Our daughter really likes to do arts and crafts,” Cole said.
“We’re all creators at heart. That’s the core,” Corral said. Whatever career path a person chooses, the act of creation is sacred. “Everybody needs an outlet of creativity,” she said.
“We’re kids of all ages,” she said. “There’s a continuum of it.”
On the back wall of Rocket Fizz, 157 Lincolnway, artist Felix Maldonado was starting his mural.
At Birdie’s Diner, 218 E. Lincolnway, artist Gabriel Barajas of Hammond was painting a mural in keeping with the diner theme of the café.
“The vision was more for an abstract piece,” Barajas said, inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Barajas used “a little bit of roller paint, a little bit of spray paint” on the wall.
“It’s more of a fun canvas than a completely blank wall,” he said as he painted around a window, vent pipes and other elements.
For the last 15 years, Barajas has been painting professionally. “My dad’s an artist,” he said. “I’ve been painting since I was younger due to him.”
Barajas has made his mark at many places, including Crown Brewing, the Miller area, Hammond and Chicago, including the Chicago Taco Authority on the city’s north side. He also has works in Iceland, Spain and Portugal.
Mitchell Schuring, of Bedford, was painting at Ivy Boutique, 204 Jefferson St. “I’ve got murals all over the state,” with Valparaiso being his furthest north, he said.
“I got attention for it in high school. I had a couple of good art teachers who saw something in me” and had him take AP art classes, preparing him for gallery work.
“I had a background in graffiti and tagging. I never got caught,” Schuring said, then started taking his work more seriously in 2018.
Graffiti can be artistic, he said. “I like to refer to it as caveman calligraphy.”
Lorrie Julianus was painting faces and arms at Ivy Boutique. She’s also a professional actor and scriptwriter.
She enjoys painting faces and arms. “You always bring a smile. It’s a very rewarding job because you always bring joy to people,” Julianus said.
“Face painting and arm painting have come a long way over the years,” she said, reflecting on her 14 years of experience.
On Saturday, she learned how to paint an arm graffiti-style. “All this mastery takes is a lot of practice,” Julianus said. “It’s always nice to add something new.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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