Splat Art Magazine May/June 2011

I didn’t know it at the time, but meeting Har Simrit would be a lifechanging event. In the months to come, we would work on projects together, including a community mural for Art Corner Toledo. The brainchild (and labor of love) of our mutual friend, Rachel Richardson, ACT’s inaugural project is a collaborative effort to beautify the Toledo community while benefiting a local non-profit.

So here we have the artist: Har Simrit Singh, who was to design a mural on a barren wall at 1141 Jackson Street. The property in UpTown Toledo is owned by the city’s most lovable Greek: Manos Paschalis. And the grounds, which conveniently happen to be a community garden, are tended to by Michael Szuberla and the other fine people of Toledo GROWS. My role as ACT’s blogger, was to document the meetings, discuss the progress of the project, and get people excited about the colorful shapes that are about to transform Toledo. Renowned website developer, and photographic genius (as well as an unstoppable father-son duo) Nathan Mattimoe and Tabor Wordelman, took on administrating the blog and taking photos of the project as it transpired. Har Simrit listened carefully as community members discussed their ideas for what the mural should represent. Life, growth, change, Toledo...all are fabulously displayed on this head-turning mural, which is finally ready to be unveiled, after months and months of preparation, on Saturday, April 30 at 11 a.m. sharp.

Yet Har Simrit’s positive vibes and community efforts don’t stop there. In May, he will be the proud creator of a commission piece covering the interior of The Loonar Station at its new location in Cricket West. While I have few details about the topics portrayed in this most recent work, I expect nothing less than another jawdropping masterpiece.

But don’t take my word for this cat’s creativity. He’s got more than a few words to say about his passion for graffiti, “the beautiful, beautiful crime.”

69