New mural honours Guelph's official city bird

06 | RO SMITH

09 | ONE FOLD AT A TIME 18 | TIKTOK & MUSIC

Shelby Bohn's chickadee mural in the University Centre drew from common colours found on campus. CREDIT: TAYLOR PIPE

ELENI KOPSAFTIS

The semester has finally come to an end at the University of Guelph, and by now all of you first-years living on campus have probably gotten a decent lay of the land. In other words, you’ve surely been to the University Centre pretty often, and maybe even ordered something at Booster Juice and seen the awesome chickadee mural there. Did you know that the artist behind the design is one of U of G’s own PhD candidates?

Shelby Bohn studies the behaviour and physiology of food-hoarding hamsters at the Department of Integrative Biology at U of G. While her degree might not initially seem related to art, Bohn loves finding new ways to tie the two together and connect people across different disciplines and barriers.

“I think a lot of kids are allowed to be artists early on, and I guess I just didn't stop,” said Bohn to The Ontarion. “ When I got older my parents noticed my interest and really fostered it in ways they were able. They allowed me to take over nooks of the house as ‘studio space’ and that freedom to play around and experiment has become a core part of how I approach art today.”

Bohn’s favourite artistic mediums include printmaking, digital illustration, and large-scale mural painting. Most of all though, they love making art that teaches people something new and interesting. It should come as no surprise then that UC Services reached out to Bohn to commission a new mural in the building. Specifically, UC Services wanted a mural that would honour Guelph’s new city bird, the black-capped chickadee, voted for by the public for its “cheerful and friendly nature,” according to GuelphToday.com.

Back in September, Nature Canada designated Guelph as the 17th official “Bird Friendly City.” The designation was developed as a way to encourage Canadian municipalities to become safer places for birds.

“Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems in our communities and on our planet. But there are 3 billion fewer birds in North America today than 50 years ago,” reads a Nature Canada release. “Much of these losses are caused by human activities. As urban expansion continues, cities must act quickly to ensure that North America’s bird populations are protected and supported.”

Guelph earned its designation through several different initiatives, such as the city-wide canopy cover targets, diverse education opportunities for landscape conservation, and window treatment kits. Bohn has also participated in the latter initiative; their window mural at City Hall not only serves as a stunning piece of art, but also makes it less likely that birds will attempt to fly through it.

As for the UC mural, Bohn wanted to use colours that were already present in the building while also highlighting the chickadee design.

“We chose to include gryphon red, gold, and black, as well as the CSA blue. All of the other colours in the mural are different combinations of these four colours and white,” said Bohn.

“I decided to surround the chickadee with red and gold leaves to indicate that a chickadee isn't an abstract concept floating in a vacuum. These are real birds that we can go out and see right now! As gryphons, we are inherently connected to the animals on our campus.”

Once the design was finalised, they transferred the design to the wall with a projector and pencil, then filled in the mural with regular house paint. After two weeks of hard work, the black-capped chickadee could finally fly freely along the walls of the UC.

To support Bohn’s fantastic work, you can visit her shop at miscbones.bigcartel.com or check out more of their art at shelbybohn. com or @misc.bones on Instagram.