RColorful Corners News

This story was adapted from a submission from Jane Townsend, Historic Southwest Neighbor and member of the RColorful Corners planning committee. She sent it the evening after this street mural was completed. For additional information about this project check our website.

Once again this summer, RNeighbors, the Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center is helping to brighten up Rochester neighborhoods!

Thursday, August 14, neighbors in the Historic Southwest Neighborhood pitched in to paint a mural on the street near the Edison Building (Rochester Public School's Administration Building), at 7th Street SW and 7th Avenue SW. Despite the torrential downpour of rain and hail immediately following when the mural was completed, the funky flowerpot mural remains intact, adding color to this core downtown Rochester neighborhood.

The flower blooms again!

On Tuesday, July 29th, over 60 volunteers came out to help repaint the flower on 5th Ave & 7th Street SE. The flower's colors matched the morning's weather: it started off grey and gloomy when the crew started at 10am, but by noon, both the sun and the flower's colors were bright as could be!

It was the perfect day-the perfect day to paint a street! Last Wednesday, June 18th, over 200 painters, including parents, SOS volunteers, Northrop neighbors, Community Education staff, PACE mentors and mentees, community corrections representatives, our local artist, Greg Wimmer, RNeighbors Board Members and staff spent the morning and early afternoon painting the glorious goose that is found in between the Northrop Community Education building and Goose Egg Park (2nd Avenue and between 9th & 10th Street NW, on the one-way street going North). Click here for a map

This summer, Rochester neighborhoods will start to look more colorful!

On Friday 1,500 pounds of street paint was picked up from the Valspar plant in St. Paul. Shown is a Valspar representative and John, who transported the precious cargo back to Rochester.

If you've driven past the intersection of 5th Avenue & 7th Street SE within the past week, then you've had a chance to admire the colorful corner that it has become!

We got rained out on the original paint date of Saturday, June 16. But on Sunday morning (June 17) we were at the location bright and early to grid and block out the mural. Designed by Slatterly Park Neighbor, Susan Waughtal and modified by muralist Greg Wimmer, the outlines of this work of art started forming from the inside out.

Due to stormy weather, the street mural painting project is rescheduled until Sunday June 17, 8 am.

Come join us and spend part of your Father's Day creating art in the south east neighborhood!

And we have a winner!

Member of the newly renamed Neighborhood Association-Slatterly Park Neighbors, Susan Waughtal is the winner of the RColorful Corners art contest! Isn't her work gorgeous? (See above)

A judging team (pictured below) looked over all of the entries and her work came out on top. Judges included Mike Podulke, RNeighbors Board member and artisan; Sam Grant, 4-H; Greg Wimmer, project muralist; Bob Sixta, RNeighbors Board Member; Liana Michelfelder-Tessum, RNeighbors Project Coordinator; and a Olmsted County Youth Commissioner from Lourdes High School. Susan was actually supposed to be part of our judging team representing her neighborhood, but declined from voting to make the contest fair.

On June 16, at 8 am, neighbors will work together in the South East neighborhood to paint a mural on the street. At an intersection in front of Hawthorne Literacy Center (5th Avenue & 7th Street SE) this community building project will take place with folks of all ages, using donated street paint. There will be fun activities for children and a free lunch served at noon. Additional information about the project can be found here.

But what will we paint?

That's up to you.

We want you to use your imagination and create a work of art that can be transfered by a local artist on to the pavement for all to paint. Your art could be a part of the SE neighborhood for years to come.

Deadline for submissions is 3 pm, on Tuesday, May 29.

Entries can be:

• Mailed to RNeighbors.
  202 First Avenue SW • Rochester, MN 55902
• Emailed.
• Dropped off to the main office at Hawthorne Literacy Center.
  700 4th Avenue SE • Rochester, MN 55904

Judging for the art contest will occur at 3:30 pm, on May 30, by a diverse group of judges. Rochester Public Works will then have to approve the design, as well as the City Council.

Guidelines for the RColorful Corners Contest

1. The goals for this project are to bring neighbors together to create art, reclaim public space, and calm traffic.
2. The image submission should be simple, easily transferable to large dimensions.
3. Not too intricate.
4. Artists of any age and from any Rochester neighborhood are encouraged to enter.
5. Use a 8.5"x8.5" drawing space for your artwork.
6. The final product, when transfered to the pavement will fill the intersection, approximately 1,400 square feet.
7. No racist, negative, gang symbols, or vulgar artwork will be accepted.
8. Check out what other cities have painted as street murals for ideas.
   • St. Paul, Minnesota
     Paint the Pavement
   • Portland, Oregon
     Portland Intersection Repair Project
     Read the rest of this entry...

Press release was sent out by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF)

(Rochester, MN. April 26, 2007) - Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation awarded more than $3,894 worth of free paint to three projects in Rochester. Recipients are: RNeighbors, the Salvation Army, and Boy Scouts of America, Gamehaven Council. Picture-It-Painted is a partnership between SMIF and Valspar Corporation in support of community beautification projects in southern Minnesota.

"Picture-It-Painted reminds us of how much collaboration shapes and improves our communities and neighborhoods,: noted Tim Penny, President/CEO, SMIF. "Many of this year's projects involve a variety of community members providing an asset their communities will enjoy for years to come," he added, "and we congratulate each of the recipient organizations and communities as we continue to partner with local leaders to identify community assets and advance community goals."