“I believe art is all around us and I think it needs to be shown more, both the importance of art and what it can bring to our community,” she said.
Baney’s art work is one of two projects in Hamilton this year that is continuing the city’s tradition of displaying art.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
In 1997, Pyramid Hill, a nonprofit sculpture park in the city of Hamilton, was founded, and now has 70 outdoor sculptures. A few years after the park was founded, then-Ohio Gov. Bob Taft proclaimed the Butler County community the City of Sculpture in August 2000. The non-profit of the same name was formed.
The mural project StreetSpark was born a decade ago, adding an alternative style of art to Hamilton. The organization has commissioned 21 murals and 17 painted utility boxes.
Tyler McCleary, president of the City of Sculpture, called art “a great uniter.”
“At one point we were all artists,” said the father of two children. “I don’t think Hamilton would be where it is today if we didn’t have a strong arts scene.”
McCleary said Hamilton does “a really good job leaning into the arts,” adding “vibrancy” and color to the backdrop and landscape of the city.
Her inspiration of the abstract artwork is designed to inspire the community and start a conversation.
“The owners wanted to bring color and life to the community, so that’s what they wanted,” she said, “so that’s why we focused on a lot of abstract shapes and different, unique bright colors.”
Including glitter.
In the City of Sculpture’s 25th year, they commissioned Devin Devine to create a stone piece of art out in front of the Lucky Well restaurant and Well House Hotel. He called the stonework “a good come-together piece.”
“It was time to put something else out for the public,” he said. “We have some plans to do some more grand projects in the near future, but we didn’t want to rush that.”
A City of Sculpture board member discovered Devine and thought his work would blend into the High-Main corridor even if “it’s something a little different,” McCleary said. “Maybe it will provoke some thought.”
Devine is building what he calls a “lithadelic sculpture.” It’s his style of dry-laid stone art the features flowing lines.
“Art is vital to our lives and our wellbeing in many ways. How important it is cannot be readily be measured or calculated,” he said. “We need beauty in our lives and we also need expression, and we need new things.”
Baney hasn’t done any art installations of this size in her 21 years, so this first public mural has been the highlight of her young career. She’s done two others and has been commissioned to do more, mostly in Trenton, but also at least one more on the High-Main corridor.
The True West mural pushed Baney to her artistic limits “to see what I could do.”
“It has fulfilled me so much,” she said. “Being a part of the community, seeing how my art interacts with people, it’s been the most positive experience I’ve had with art.”
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