Rhythms of the Heartland
ADDRESS: On D Street between Norris Ave and East 1st Street
Behind the Brushstrokes
This mural took a few years in the making. It started with conversations in the creative community about what we would like McCook’s second community mural to be about. We decided that we wanted it to be about the native prairie landscape. As we narrowed in on the design, we decided to include electric poles as a nod to George Norris’ electrification of our rural communities. We decided to make the design show a progression, starting on the left with early spring and moving into summer and late summer at the right of the mural. The storm clouds are a nod to the extreme weather that the region experiences, and also the storms of darkness and conflict within our society. But the skies clear as the images progress. We chose bright colors to create a feeling of hope and vibrancy.
We painted many Easter eggs into this mural, and we hope that people take the time to look up close and enjoy finding them. We want people to interact with the mural, taking pictures with the butterfly wings. We also created a stream along the walkway as an interactive element to invite people to hop along the rocks.
Most importantly, this is a community mural. We invited local artists to participate. Everyone in the community had a chance to ‘lend a hand’ during a Third Thursday event, where they put their handprints on the wall, which our artists turned into prairie flowers.
