It's magic! That was the theme for the Mum Festival in Barberton, OH. We (Jill Butauski, Greg Butauski) arrived early Saturday morning to begin painting a 12 ft. high mural that would include mums flowing out of a magic hat. This would be my first experience painting a mural as part of the Art the Experience team. I was a little nervous - I have been painting all my life, but this would be my first large scale mural. Painting on a ladder was definitely a new experience, but I got used to the height, and by the second day it seemed like something I had done a hundred times!

The first day we began with the background-which was somewhat difficult-working with acrylic paint, since it dries so fast. It was also very hot both days and we were in direct sunlight, which made the paint dry even quicker. We had to work fast to get the background blended since we were doing a fade from white to blue to purple. Next, we started on the hat and finished the day by roughing in the mums. Then we called it a day. I was exhausted! I wore shorts the first day and got a sunburn on the back of my legs. Note to self: never forget the sunblock!

Day two was more relaxing. We concentrated on detailing the mums and adding stars surrounding the hat. We finished up by adding the magic wand…and poof it was completed!

It was a great feeling to have little kids come up to you and think you were doing the most amazing thing they had ever seen! Of course, there is always the one spectator who has to make a rude comment and try to ruin the day! But you just have to brush it off and keep going!

There is also a great story to go along with this mural. Yoder Brothers' world headquarters is located in Barberton, Ohio.  Yoder Brothers is the world's leading breeder and propagator of chrysanthemums. During the 2006 Mum Festival, Yoder Brothers introduced a new mum at the Mum Festival, named Bonnie.  Bonnie is a red daisy chrysanthemum, and was named in memory of the late Bonnie Joyce Myers, a Barberton resident who loved flowers and supported the Mum Festival since its inception.  The Mum Festival arch, which is the most photographed spot in the Mum Gardens, was named the Bonnie Myers Memorial Mum Arch in 2006, sponsored in Bonnie's memory by her family.  An endowment fund, created by the family, will fund the arch in her memory for years to come.

We had a variety of mums to choose from and it just so happened that I chose that particular mum – the Bonnie mum, which had a beautiful story to go along with it!

Rock On Ice