Tessa LeBaron started painting murals after a local business in her hometown of Geneva-on-the-Lake asked her to paint one on the side of their building. “There were some businesses down there that wanted some mural art on their buildings, so I did it, and once I painted one, the business next to it wanted one,” said the infectiously enthusiastic, 29-year-old artist. “And then once I finished that, the other business wanted one. It caught on, for sure.”
After attending Lakeland Community College for graphic design and getting involved in the art scene in Cleveland, LeBaron began painting murals locally. One day, she was driving along W. 25th St. with her boyfriend, artist and writer Shawn Mishak, and they both spotted an ugly, peeling, blank wall that they thought could use some brightening up. Facing a large empty lot, the brick wall was painted canary yellow with a muddy brown rectangular splotch in one corner.
“I make jokes that it looks like a rotten banana wall with the brown and the yellow,” said LeBaron with a laugh. “I was calling it the rotten banana wall. It’s been graffitied, I think that’s why there’s the brown, because the yellow just wouldn’t cover it up.”
The wall near the intersection of W. 25th St. and Erin Ave. in the city’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood won’t look like a rotten banana much longer. That’s because LeBaron and other artists are painting a mural on it this summer. The mural will feature a vibrant Guatemalan landscape celebrating that country’s history, nature and culture, a first in Cleveland.
“I don’t think there’s one Guatemalan mural here in Cleveland,” said LeBaron. “And there’s a thriving Guatemalan community here that I think needs represented.”
LeBaron is collaborating with artist Hector Castellanos Lara, who is from Guatemala, on the project. “When I saw her drawing it impacted me a lot,” said Castellanos Lara. “Even being from Guatemala I never had the opportunity to do a landscape in public art. When she mentioned the area, it made perfect sense for me because there is a lot of new development, with the Pivot building and the Glick Center at Metrohealth which is bringing new apartments.”
“Something is going to need to happen to connect the area,” he continued, and public art is one way to do that. “I saw that mural as a perfect welcome to the west side. It’s right there at the border of Ohio City, Tremont, and the Clark Fulton area, which has a high population of Latinos.”
LeBaron and Castellanos Lara got connected by chance. LeBaron, who is a regular at Late Nite Records around the corner on Walton Ave., talked to the owner there and got the building owner’s phone number. When she called him, he said he didn’t have the funds for a mural but he would like to see one painted there. He mentioned that he and his partner traveled frequently to Guatemala, and he’d love to see a mural that displayed the imagery of that beautiful country.
The concept for the mural began coming together when LeBaron ran into Castellanos Lara, who has a studio at the Hildebrandt building on Walton, at an artist mixer at the Pivot Center. “Tessa was talking with someone, and they mentioned my name and I was right there,” said Castellanos Lara with a laugh. “They said, here’s Hector, he’s from Guatemala.”
The project, which is being funded by a Neighborhood Connections grant, will feature imagery from the landscape, culture, and history of Guatemala. Flowers, vegetation, and mountains will be displayed in vivid hues. An image of the quetzal, the country’s national bird, will be prominently displayed in the center of the mural. The backdrop will feature a volcano as well as several kites flying through the air, representing the country’s Day of the Dead celebrations.
“I’m excited about this,” said Castellanos Lara. “The mural will bring a new energy to the area. People care about the many cultures that live in Cleveland.”
First, though, comes the hard work of getting the wall ready for painting the mural, which was recently approved by the Cleveland Planning Commission. LeBaron said her team, which also includes artist Paige Knoefel, plans to begin work in late June and wrap up sometime in July. “It’s going to need a lot of prep work,” she said of the wall. “With the grant through Neighborhood connections, we were able to hire a handyman to scrape off and prime some of the old paint. Then we’ll prep the surface which is very weathered. We’ll take a paint sprayer and put on a whole new coat. Once we have the base colors, that’s where the fun part comes and we paint the actual design.”
When the mural is finished, LeBaron said she and the other organizers are going to have a block party and invite the whole neighborhood. “Everyone is invited,” said the artist, stressing that the mural is for the community, and all are welcome.
The new mural celebrating Guatemalan culture in Cleveland will be located on the side of the building at 2966 W. 25th St. Want to get involved and find out more? Reach out to Tessa LeBaron here: About – TESSA LEBARON Artist. To watch or participate in Cleveland Planning Commission meetings, visit Cleveland City Planning Commission (clevelandohio.gov).
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