North Canton has a “selfie-style” mural ready for the community.
Don Hill, the owner of Art Uncorked Studio & Gallery in Jackson Township unveiled a mural depicting three iconic celebrities, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Bob Marley all holding an ice cream cone.
Hill said that the creamery reached out in July after a Facebook video of his got their attention.
“Pav’s reached out to me on July 3rd after I posted a time-lapse video on my Facebook page. The video is of me rendering a retro style Leinenkugel’s ad on the side of my garden shed. The purpose of the video was meant to showcase a new mural service I was hoping to provide to future clients as my art studio was seeing a decline in customers.”
When thinking about inspiration for this new opportunity, Hill had the idea that retro celebrity icons eating ice cream would be the perfect fit representing each demographic.
“I wanted to showcase the ice cream by keeping the characters in black and white allowing the colorized cones to stand out and become the focal point. The background color of the portraits was meant to compliment Pav’s’ stripe pattern of pink, grey and white. In choosing the icons, Marilyn seemed to be the most obvious first choice in that she is easily recognizable among most demographics. The second choice was to add an icon to represent the African-American community. I was torn between Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. Personally, I tend towards Bob as his message of freedom and liberty is dear to my heart as an artist. The third icon was a little more difficult in that we wanted a retro icon for children to enjoy. Many children’s icons of the past are not as easily recognizable to the present youth demographic. Then it dawned on me how much my daughter loved The Wizard of Oz when she was younger. So Dorothy holding Toto became an obvious choice and a bonus to pet lovers.”
Hill opened Art Uncorked Studio & Art Gallery in Jackson Township in 2015 as a way to teach anybody artistic ability highlighting in the production phase of home decor. Hill urges people to give it a chance and learn something new.
“We offer public and private parties and no artistic experience is required. I consider this an alternative night out versus going out to dinner, seeing a movie, going to a bar, etc. The same old Ohio leisure activities.”
For Hill, seeing it come to life and see the positive response from the public is the most rewarding aspect of the entire process.
“To see it bear fruit in the real world is more rewarding than I could’ve ever imagined. The intention was to create an all inclusive environment that would attract traffic to Pav’s Creamery and increase their sales while giving the community the opportunity to enjoy the arts. Throughout the process, I have realized how much people enjoy art and the joy that it brings to them sincerely brings me satisfaction. I have learned that art brings everyone together no matter what our differences are. This to me is the most rewarding aspect of the mural.”