TOSS hosts community paint party for new murals

If you’ve ever wanted to see your artistic work presented to the public on a grand scale, now you have an opportunity.

TOSS, a local arts and education community organization affiliated with The Industrial Commons, will host a paint party in the gym at Forest Hill Elementary School on July 21. The school is at 304 Ann St., in Morganton. Locals can help create murals to be painted on area buildings this fall. The paint party will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

TOSS Creative Director Kathryn Ervin said the free event is open to the public and features paint-by-number stations. She said this event is a vital part of TOSS’ plan to create three new murals in Burke County.

“Our goal is to celebrate the contributions and achievements of local communities and really promote healthy dialogue around identity and belonging in our community,” Ervin said. “Public art is a beautiful conduit for conversation, and I believe it will help us to understand our past while building our collective future.”

According to Ervin, the mural initiative began more than two years ago, when a group of high school students conducted a “public art audit” as part of a TOSS summer camp. They identified potential communities to elevate and stories to share that have yet been untold through public art. TOSS worked with project stakeholders, partners, and prospective contractors to establish expectations and secure resources.

“We also worked to narrow down mural themes through community input and voting,” said Ervin. “We completed three murals last year and our final three for 2024 are underway.”

The current projects include: a mural honoring the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community, to be painted on the side of Debbie’s Embroidery, 408 S. Sterling St.; a mural saluting Women in the Workplace on a wall outside Root & Vine restaurant, 216 E. Union St.; and a mural saluting Rural Futures: Pathways to work, which will be painted on connected walls at Western Piedmont Community College.

TOSS sponsored community meetings in the spring, inviting public input for each design. Then, three teams of artists went to work, creating designs and bringing the vision for each mural to life. The designs for the new pieces of art will be unveiled on Sunday at the paint party.

Ervin invites the public to help with the murals while enjoying an evening of fun for the entire family. Participants are invited to bring a covered dish for a potluck dinner.

The paint party was originally planned for Catawba Meadows Park, but Ervin made the decision on Friday to move the event indoors because of the prediction of a rainy forecast for Sunday.

No painting experience is necessary to participate, and the project will be ADA accessible

ASL interpretation will be available.

The paint party was originally planned for Catawba Meadows Park, but Ervin made the decision on Friday to move the event indoors because of the prediction of a rainy forecast for Sunday.

During the event, there will also be a student art market and make and take activities for kids. Ninety students from TOSS’ summer camp will have art on display.

More than 20 individuals served as steering committee members for the mural project. They are:

Women at Work

• Aimee Perez

• Lisa Miller

• Jan Stephanides

• Elizabeth Thao

• Barbara Norvell

• Jenny Hughes

• Ruth E. Roseboro

 Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• Mark D. Patrick

• Kimberly Lee

• Martha Evans

• Jennifer Willett

• Nathan Mcalister

 Rural Futures - Pathways to Work

• Sandy Hoilman

• Jenna Chapman

• Zebedee T. Graham

• Marshy Manami

• Ashley Dula Clark

• Dr. Joel D. Welch

• Susan Berley

• Mark Poteat