Blawnox Community Park mural highlights nature, spring colors

A pair of Pittsburgh area artists have brought some nature and seasonal colors to Blawnox Community Park as part of a mural project commissioned by a borough nonprofit.

Monica Cervone McElwain of Glenshaw and Lynn Ratkovich of Brighton Heights spent several weeks this summer putting brush to the wall of the restrooms at the recreation site along Center Avenue.

The mural was commissioned by Best of Blawnox, a charity dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the borough.

The nature scene wraps around the side of the building facing Center Avenue to the doors of the restroom.

It features creatures including a cardinal, a blue jay, fawn, a rabbit and a fox as well as different colored flowers.

There is a message reading “Welcome to” written in cursive and “Blawnox” written in big block letters.

McElwain and Ratkovich have christened the piece “All Are Welcome.” Their signatures are found in the lower left corner of the wall facing Center Avenue.

McElwain said it turned out just as designed and was a great experience.

“The process literally was just looking at our design and appropriately placing images where they needed to be,” she said.

“It’s always good to work as a team, to have another pair of eyes to look at it. Making sure you’re getting a good enough coat so that it lasts for many, many years and doesn’t lighten down.”

The work took several weeks, with painting taking place primarily in the afternoon and into the evening.

Ratkovich said she was surprised at all the traffic coming by the park and how friendly everyone was throughout the process.

“I was surprised at how many people would come by and compliment us,” she said. “It was nice to see people see our progress. … It’s a permanent piece that will make a lasting impression on the community.”

Some of the youngest supporters came from The Alphabet Tree Daycare located near the park.

“The kids were very excited to see the animals and the brightness of it and said, ‘Thank you for making our potty so pretty,’” McElwain said. “Any time that I can spend time working on my art is very pleasurable and helpful for me as an artist. Being out in the fresh air and giving back to the community is always a positive thing.”

Best of Blawnox volunteers painted the other sides of the building deep blue in early July to help complement the mural.

Kathy Ulanowicz, Blawnox borough manager and Best of Blawnox board member, was among those volunteers.

She said the committee decided to have the whole building painted, and checked with the artists to select a color that would complement their work.

“We were very excited about it,” Ulanowicz said of the hands-on experience. “We wanted to make sure that it got done, that we were able to complete the portion of the walls. We had a lot of fun doing it.”

Some of those volunteers are expected to come back to the site in a few weeks to paint the doors blue.

The artists put on a clear protective coat and signed their names on the mural on July 17.

Ratkovich said the borough was great to work with, and it felt very rewarding to make the park and the community more beautiful.

Artists breakdown

Ratkovich is a multimedia artist and art teacher with Pittsburgh Public Schools.

She earned an art education certification and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and attended a study abroad program at Exeter College at the University of Oxford in England, where she concentrated on watercolors. She also received a master’s from Robert Morris University with a focus on instructional leadership.

Some of her artwork featured on rawartists.com involved colorful owls and robots.

McElwain, formerly of Denver, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University in New York and later earned a teaching certificate from Carlow College.

She worked as a darkroom manager and senior photographer for a local studio before getting a teaching job with Shaler Area School District.

In 2012, she helped to establish an art environment for working woman artists by offering studio space, art shows, workshops and monthly open-studio evenings.

Both Ratkovich and McElwain were part of an art collective called Siren Studios.

More information and other artwork can be found on their Instagram pages.

Mural selection

Requests for proposals went out in January with a Feb. 28 deadline for submissions. Best of Blawnox would pay the selected artist or artists $1,000 and cover supplies.

Best of Blawnox President Diane Casile said McElwain and Ratkovich were selected out of seven submissions.

“They gave us the best proposal and their rendering of what it would look like is very nice,” Casile said May 17. “It will be a nice addition to the park.”

Casile said the proposal was also affordable for the nonprofit, but did not get into specifics. The charity was also mum on project details at the time, other than it would have bright colors and animals.

Ulanowicz helped with the artist screening process.

“They had to submit their design prior to the selection,” Ulanowicz said on July 17. “We just didn’t pick artists. We picked the design. We went through the process of selecting them. We, as the committee, liked the bright colors and the nature that’s all on there, flowers (and) animals and of course the big blue ‘Blawnox’ looks fabulous on there.”

This is the second mural the charity has funded in as many years.

Renowned artist Lee Steadman of McKean finished a mural on the side of Rick’s Barber Shop along Freeport Road last summer.

More information about Best of Blawnox and its activities is available at bestofblawnox.com or on its Facebook page.