Armed with paint rollers and a vision for a corner of the neighborhood, a small group of neighbors spent Friday afternoon painting the first strokes of what will become a permanent roadway mural in northeast Salem.

Community Project

The mural – currently a geometric arrangement of pink, orange, yellow, green, purple and blue – is at the intersection of Northeast 21st and Nebraska streets, near Englewood Park. The intersection will be closed to traffic through the weekend as neighbors work on the mural.

The crew was made up of neighbors, a gray friendly cat, a small fluffy dog and two children, who were out by noon to ready the pavement for its first layer.

The project is led by Cindy Kimball, secretary of the Northeast Neighbors Neighborhood Association. Kimball helped secure about $700 in grant funding from the city to cover the cost of paints and other supplies.

Jan Black, a self-taught artist, has lived right on the corner of the intersection since 1993. Kimball asked her to design the mural about four months ago.

“I was just flat out excited,” Black said. “I’ve always been interested in doing murals. … I’ve never had anything that big that I’ve designed and become real. So, I was just thrilled, and it felt such a wonderful way to give back.”

Her design features abstract, colored shapes with a pink flower in the center. Each shape represents a piece of her neighborhood with trees, a smiley face and several human figures biking, gardening and pushing strollers.

Neighbors will continue painting over the weekend. On Saturday, they’ll add the flower and other stenciled pieces. Then, on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., neighborhood children are invited to come out, cover their hands in multicolored paint and add their prints to three sections of the mural.

By Sunday night, Black will be able to see the finished mural from her porch. The intersection will reopen at 8 p.m. that day.

Original reporting: Salem Reporter — read the source article.