12 • Spurs & Feathers
October 2, 2013
Mural to celebrate Gamecock pride in Lexington county by mike kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com
commemorate this on the water tank that is located so close to the facility. “I am an undergrad and grad school graduA former football player is leading a proate of South Carolina and a former lettergram to help beautify the midlands and man, so I love the fact that we’re getting to show Carolina pride by creating a Gamedo this project to support the Gamecocks,” cock mural on the 88-foot tall water tank in Bryan said. “We’re also able to let GameCayce, S.C. cock fans contribute to the project. The water tank is located near the Colum“It’s going to make a new South Carolina bia Metropolitan Airport so recruits and vis- landmark. It is going to give major publicity itors will fly over it and gain a sense of that to the athletics department with it being tied they are near the heart of Gamecock Nation. into the University,” Bryan added. Former walk-on wide receiver and letterThe mural is going to be 20,000 square feet man Will Bryan, who played for Lou Holtz and the artwork is divided into 10,000 virtuas a member of the 2001 and 2002 Outback al squares that will be available for sponsorBowl teams, is the founder of Public Works ship for only $25 per square. There will be of HeART. This is a new company that a landmark sign beside the mural listing the partners with nonprofit organizations to help names of everyone that purchases a square. them raise awareness and money for their You can purchase one to 10 squares at $25 cause by using public art as the vehicle to each online at www.GamecockMural.com. do so. Along with the recognition on the landThe Lexington Gamecock Club initially mark sign beside the painted water tank, came to Bryan saying that they wanted to Public Works of HeART is partnering with celebrate the new golf practice facility’s the local Harvest Hope Food Bank to help location in Lexington county since it is the families in need in the area. only Carolina practice facility that is in “If all the squares are sold by Nov. 1, we Lexington. They originally had the idea to will be able to give $5 from each square to
Harvest Hope Food Bank. This means that we would be able to give $50,000 to Harvest Hope Food Bank to help families before the holidays,” Bryan said. Bryan said that the project will need to be funded by Nov. 1 to have the mural completed by the end of the year because the water tank can only be painted while it is empty. If it is not funded by then, the painting will have to wait until the next time the tank is emptied, most likely in the spring. The artwork for the mural was designed by Bryan, who earned a BA in Fine Arts in 2002 from South Carolina. It is designed to reflect the state’s natural beauty and to be a highly visible marker for the new golf practice facility. “Basically we’re painting the whole thing as a big sunset with a Palmetto tree and crescent moon with the silhouette of a golfer. It has city name Cayce on it, but the “C” in the name is the Block C with the Gamecock in it,” Bryan described. “Because it is so close to the airport and the whole top of the tank is round, we’re painting a giant golf ball with a big Block C and Gamecock on top of it. “This way all the planes flying into Co-
lumbia Metro will fly right over it. It will basically be a welcome to Gamecock country as soon as they get to Columbia,” Bryan continued. The painting of the mural will be done by Eric Henn, a nationally-awarded mural painter with 20 years of experience. Henn won the 2012 National Tnemec Tank of the Year Award and has done many fantastic murals on tanks like the one in Cayce for 20 years. He will hand-paint the design onto the tank. This project will help to create a new Gamecock landmark in the midlands and benefit the community as well. It will be a source of pride for Carolina fans throughout the region and a celebration of the expansion of the Athletics Department. To find out more about the project or to donate, visit www.GamecockMural.com and watch the video on the main page. You can also follow them on Twitter @PublicWrksOfHrt, or tweet them so questions and answers can reach a large audience. There is also an email form on the contact page of the website as well if you have more specific questions or need more than 140 characters.