I Myself Am That by Laurie Marshall

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Our story about I Myself Am That once again comes directly from the Sprout Fund through Curt Gettman:

Artist Laurie Marshall based this mural on the concept that The Kingdom of God is within you, interviewing more than 50 people of all ages and walks of life from McKees Rocks, and asking them what they thought of when they heard this phrase. The figures standing along the bottom edge of the mural correspond to the community members that Laurie interviewed, and the design is her rendition of how they described their vision. The windows they look through frame a view of an imagined McKees Rocks. The landscape is lush and wild, with the famous McKees Rocks Bridge as the only man–made structure in the panorama. Additionally, each window is designed to correspond to the different ethnic groups who call McKees Rocks home: from left to right they are Polish, Carpo–Russian, Ukranian, German, African, Irish, and Native American. The windows themselves are based on Italian Renaissance paintings, representing the Italian community. Shortly before the mural was commissioned, Focus on Renewal, the community applicant, bought the building on which the mural was painted and turned it into an art center. After the mural was completed, Focus on Renewal went on to adorn all the walls of the building with additional murals. The art center is now a thriving community gathering space and a source of identity and pride to the McKees Rocks community.

When we visited the mural it appeared as though some restoration work had been started. The top half of the mural is badly faded, but the bottom half looks much darker. We’ve discovered that the artists need to use a hydraulic lift to paint the higher parts of these murals. From the look of this mural’s condition, our guess is that whomever is trying to restore the mural may not have raised the funds to obtain the use of a lift for the top half yet.

We found this poem written by the artist and read at the unveiling of the mural. She also includes many pictures taken when the mural was newly painted.