3 Fine Art seniors take charge with Lancaster River Connections murals
Tuesday, October 8th, 2024
It’s easy to forget that water we drink and use doesn’t just appear from a faucet — in much of Lancaster’s case, it flows from the Conestoga River. Those storm drains located at many city corners do, too.
Bringing awareness of that connection, and the need for communities to steward care of the river, is the goal of Lancaster River Connections. And this summer, three PCA&D student artists were selected to design and create murals that serve as reminders to passersby that how we treat the river that flows by Lancaster City has an ultimate impact on our neighborhoods, our environment, our businesses, and our selves.
The team of Charlie Boyce, Krista Canoles, and Katie Hess earned internship credits for their work, which spans a variety of styles and themes, from the river’s ecosystem to nods to adjacent businesses. The experience, they all say, reflects an interest in the environment they already had, and was a rewarding way to have an impact on the community their college calls home.
Learn more below about their projects, sponsors, and inspiration!
The completed mural by Charlie Boyce.
CHARLIE BOYCE ’25, Fine Art
Where is your mural’s location?
Charlie Boyce: On the sidewalk right in front of West Art, on the corner of College and Buchanan avenues, right near the (PCA&D housing) Seminary!
How did you hear about this project and how were you selected?
CB: I was in communications with our wonderful Career Services workers here, and they helped organize this project to count for internship credits.
Charlie Boyce at work on their mural.
Can you describe what your mural design looks like?
CB: My mural depicts a waterfall that flows from out of a storm drain down into a cup. There is English and Spanish text at the top and bottom of the mural that reads, “Clean water starts here…” on the curb, then more text near the cup, reading, “… and ends here.” There are many different types of flowers that are based on plants (mostly flowers) native to Pennsylvania placed behind the flow of water as well.
Is your mural’s subject something that has interested you in the past, before you became involved with the project?
CB: I’d say so, yes! I’m interested in projects that have to do with bringing attention to community-based issues, such as bringing awareness to the city’s drinking water. I’ve also always been incredibly enamored by public street art! I grew up near Philly, a city known for their murals, so I’ve always been surrounded by such projects. It’s such an honor to say that I’ve made some of my own now!
Who sponsored your project?
CB: My mural was sponsored by River Connections, as well as College Park Climate Action Neighborhood, also known as College Park CAN!
About how many hours did you spend on the mural?
CB: Well, most of the important steps were really the ones before we even started painting. We were in constant communication with many different people that work for the city; they were the ones to critique and give us final approvals before anything. As for actually painting the mural, it took me three days, about 8-9 hours per day!
Is there anything we didn’t ask you about that would be helpful to know?
CB: My art Instagram is @flaeky53!
Krista Canoles at work on her mural at the entrance of the North Museum of Nature and Science.
KRISTA CANOLES ’25, Fine Art
Depictions of native plants highlight Krista Canoles’ mural.
Katie Hess works on her mural in the neighborhood surrounding Lancaster General Hospital.
Katie Hess ’25, Fine Art
Where is the location of your mural?
Katie Hess: The corner of Duke and Frederick in Lancaster City.
How did you hear about this project and how were you selected to do it?
KH: Early fall 2023, I really wanted to do a mural arts internship, but the mural world was very hard to break into, and there were no opportunities for mural internships. I reached out to Career Services about my interest in creating my own internship, and the process began then! I started applying to mural jobs through Lancaster Public Art, and eventually reached out to Charlie and Krista to create a mural “team” for some group applications. We were actually not given the first opportunity we applied to, but about a week after being denied for the first project, we got an email that a non-profit wanted to meet with us about three mural opportunities! This organization was Lancaster River Connections!
The finished environmental mural by Katie Hess, near Lancaster General Hospital.
Can you describe what your mural looks like and what it contains? Were you able to determine what it would look like or did you have some guidance/requests from the organization that commissioned it?
KH: So, my mural was for Lancaster General Hospital! My grantee, Sam Rosa, wanted me to create something family friendly, colorful, and to have it represent both the River Connections message, and to represent how much our healthcare workers do for us. For the family-friendly aspect, we decided to creating a fun squid character, and gave him a cute little white coat and stethoscope! In the mural, our character is seen flowing out of the storm drain, while cleaning up the water source! As we know, clean water = clean health!
Is your mural’s subject something that has interested you in the past, before you became involved with the project?
KH: Yes! I have always been involved in environmental issues, going quite far back. My mom and I used to volunteer to do road clean ups, and aside from that, this feels like a big “full circle” moment for me! When I was 15, I won first place in a juried art show, and my artwork was all about recycling and keeping our world clean! So, to do this mural at 22, felt almost perfect!
Who sponsored your project?
KH: So, our organization is Lancaster River Connections, but they got funding through the Love Your Block Grant here in the city! Anyone can apply!
About how many hours or days did you spend on the mural?
KH: So the physical painting itself took four separate days, working on average from 8/9 am to 5/6 pm! So approximately 30 hours for the installation of the mural. But, it took about 60 hours of pre-planning work when it came to meeting with my grantees, getting my design refined and approved, and going through the process of traffic permits!
Did you have any interesting feedback while working on the mural or afterward?
KH: Don’t wear any clothes you care about! lol
Is there anything we didn’t ask you about that would be helpful to know?
KH: That Keisha Finnie (who is an absolute powerhouse of a woman) was our mentor, and truly she was fantastic to be able to work with!