lookout point
A massive mural featuring Mother Nature graces the side of the BeWell facility located on the corner of Third and Ohio streets in Marquette.
BUILDING BEAUTY
Marquette’s new mural features Mother Nature Story and photos by Jackie Stark
W
hen Kate Lewandowski and Christopher Ray first purchased the massive building on the corner of Third and Ohio Streets in Marquette, they had big plans. And those plans included equally big art. “When we bought the building, we just saw this big, open, flat empty pallet and just thought how great it would be to have something beautiful on the wall,” Lewandowski said. So, she contacted the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center to inquire about potential artists for a mural, and director Tiina Harris put Kate in touch with Power of
Words Project founder and artist Mia Tavonatti. Tavonatti had already created several Power of Words murals in communities across the Upper Peninsula. Originally from Iron Mountain, she was happy to return to the U.P. on occasion to share her artwork with the general public. But Tavonatti said she never had plans to create a mural in the city of Marquette. “I figured they got their stuff going on already and they didn’t really need me … but they wanted something here and we got it done,” Tavonatti said during the official introduction of her newest Power of Words project, the largest mural on display in the city of Marquette.
October 2021
The project was a couple of years in the making, with production on the mural beginning in 2019. However, after an accident at the site of the mural, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was delayed significantly. But, it came to fruition this summer and was officially unveiled to the community in August of this year. Tavonatti had help with creating the mural from a team of local artists, including Michele Tuccini, Sabrina Langdon, Taryn Okesson, Emmalene Oysti and Patty Gagnon. Tuccini, who was also part of the mural project along the bike path in Marquette, said she learned a lot being part of this type of project.
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