All those murals popping up on Stone Ave are no coincidence. Less than a month ago, Stone Mural Project Year 5 began, which means three new works of public art for the community.

Here are the folks turning buildings into art for 2018:

Michelle Jardines (2018 Emerging Artist at Artisphere) on the side of the Bombshell Lounge
Annie Koelle on the side of The Bohemian
100+ Stone Academy fifth graders (celebrating the school’s 100th birthday) + Eli Blasko and Russell Bannan (of Bannan Blasko LLC, the artists behind the Markley Station mural) + Furman art students collaborating on the side of Watson Finance Company

Stone Mural Project has been documenting the process over on their Instagram, from prep work with Bannan Blasko and Stone Academy students to in-progress shots of the murals as they happen. The Watson Finance Company mural had its ribbon cutting last Friday, and the other two murals are still underway.

Watson Finance Company

The Bohemian

Bombshell Lounge

Stone Mural Project is the only group painting murals that are 100% funded by the community – no private dollars.

And each mural has a meaning.

The Watson Finance Company mural celebrates Stone Academy’s centennial, and has a hidden “100” and a hexagon design (for the school’s bee mascot); Annie Koelle’s mural is in honor of the Gridley Club’s 100th anniversary in 2019; and Michelle Jardines’s mural is in memory of Mike Mecklenburg, a local Uber driver + member of GVL’s Design Review Board who died in an unsolved case last year and painted watercolor skies.

Here are a few more shots of the Stone Mural Project in progress:

Curious about other murals around our city? Check out our ever-growing list of larger-than-life artwork.

Stay tuned for updates on Stone Mural Project’s upcoming website, and send us any shots you get of the murals in progress (or other works from Stone Mural Project’s past years: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4.)

Where else do you think would be a great spot for a mural? Personally, I’d love to see one in Simpsonville – maybe on the side of Howard’s Pharmacy…

– Kendall