CAPA Student Mural by Jesse Vaughan and Pete Lambert

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In the 90’s, a wise lady and homeowner in Oakland hired some artists from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School (CAPA) to paint a mural on a garage wall. She realized then what we’ve realized since we began mapping all the murals – that the street artists tend to respect other artists. Her primary goal was to stop the constant tagging that kept showing up on that wall, and her efforts were mostly successful. For 20 years no one defaced the artwork and even now the damage is relatively minor.
She requested an angel to be included in the design, but left the rest of it up to the artists.
Jasmine K. contacted us with the story and this old photo of a portion of the mural before the vines and weeds overtook it.

Jasmine told us that about 10 years after the mural went up, someone from the city noticed it and realized that there was no permit for it. They wanted the artwork removed, but a strong community effort along with the help of our current mayor (then councilman) Bill Peduto saved it. This artwork was especially important to the neighborhood because one of the artists died in 2004, at the very young age of 23. No one wanted to lose this piece of Jesse Vaughan.
We weren’t able to find out the last name of the other artist that worked on this. If anyone knows Pete, please send us an email.
In 2015 the woman that commissioned this mural contacted us:

Hi! I am the "wise lady" who commissioned the mural and Jasmine's mom. I wanted a mural on that wall because I could see it from my kitchen window, and the view from my kitchen was so abominable - a garbage dumpster overflowing with garbage. We were trying to figure out how to go about getting the owner's permission to put a mural on their garage wall, and then learned that they wanted to sell the property, so we bought it. The year was 1996. Thank you for featuring our mural and this story. Best regards, Nan

History of Spring Hill Mosaic by Linda Wallen, multiple artists

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After the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh underwent an extensive remodeling and expansion effort, they sought to broaden their affect on the community. They approached this by linking up with other local organizations and venues to form a collaborative effort. They named this the Charm Bracelet Project, with the various organizations involved represented by individual charms, linked together for a purpose. Since it’s inception, the Charm Bracelet Project has tried to foster and strengthen the Northside community and to encourage creativity on every level. While it celebrates the individuality of the neighborhoods, it also brings them together with activities and a renewed sense of identity.

The bulk of the Charm Bracelet Projects and associated organizations are located in the heart of the old Allegheny City, but a few reach out into nearby neighborhoods. In Spring Hill, this mosaic mural was created as one of their programs.

The mural depicts the history of Spring Hill.

Artist Linda Wallen worked with local high school students in an after school program to create this. They interviewed residents of Spring Hill and researched the history of the area to come up with the design, then spent time at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild learning about tile and mosaic work.

Other residents also attended workshops and made their own tiles to be included in the border.

The mural is located in what was a vacant, overgrown lot. It will be the anchor now for a small community park being built there.

Spring Hill was named for having many natural springs in the area. One in particular was located near where the mural was installed. Unfortunately it is now covered over.

Initially home to mostly German immigrants, the mural includes the racing pigeons that they brought with them when they immigrated.

Agriculture was a big part of the history here, and Spring Hill is another of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods that depended on the steps for it’s early residents to go to and from the city below.

The mural and soon to be park are located across the street from the fire hall. We don’t know if this part of the design is a tribute to today’s firemen or yesterday’s, but it seems appropriate for the location.

There are lots of great details and whimsical touches in this mosaic.

Connections by Patricia Bellan-Gillen

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The dinosaurs from the Carnegie Museum’s DinoMite Days were all adopted and moved to their new homes years ago. A handful remain scattered around the city in public places and those are the ones we’ve included in this website.

Patricia Bellan–Gillen was another artist that had some school children help with the artwork. On Connections, she had fourth grade students at Burgettstown Elementary paint the vase on the dinosaur’s head. On the rest of the dinosaur she shows connections between all living things.

Look for this dinosaur between buildings at Children’s Hospital. It stands under an overhang next to some cool, old remnants from St. Francis Hospital.

Tweet Tweet by Stevo Sadvary

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This mural is on the back of school property, so it won't always be accessible. In a fenced in area, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has established a bird garden. Stevo Sadvary and volunteers have created this great space for the kids to watch and learn about the local birds. They have bird houses and plants to provide sources of food and shelter.

Along the side of some steps, Stevo has created these terrific images of some of the birds that the kids may see in the garden.

Seeking Joy mural by Cathy Pelusi Art Studio students

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Faith, Hope and Love. Those are the messages tied to Seeking Joy, a mural inspired and modeled after Les Iris by Van Gogh. This mural was done by the students of the Holy Family Institute’s Cathy Pelusi Art Studio and donated to Common Ministries on Brighton Road.

This mural and it’s message are so important. Common Ministries operates the largest food pantry in the area and serves the needs of many of the area’s homeless. A few days before they unveiled the mural, students and teachers worked on adding the garden boxes with the written message of what they wanted the mural to represent. For the students this was all about giving back to the community. For the community it's a wonderful addition to the landscape and a bright spot in everyone’s lives.

The list of artists (students, teachers and assistants) is long, but each one deserves credit for this:
Copied directly from the One Voice art newsletter from 16 Oct 2012

FADED-BLUE, CRYSTAL-BLACK, CRYSTAL-RED, MR. BIKIM/AmeriCorps, CRYSTAL-GOLD, STAR-GOLD, AMETHYST, BABY-BLUE, ORCHID, HOT- PINK, MISS VERONICA/Seton Staff, JOVANNA/Volunteer, MR. DAVID D. DiMichele/International College Preparatory Program, MISS ALYSSA/AmeriCorps, SUMMER-GREEN, TRUE-RED,PURPLE-BLACK, MR. DAVID A. DIMICHELE/Spiritual Director, MARINE-BLUE, MIDNIGHT-BLUE, BRIGHT ORANGE, DEEPEST-BLUE, GREEN, DYLAN, LAUREN, and MS. AMY DIMICHELE/Art Instructor

Animal Mosaics by Stevo Sadvary and students

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Citiparks is the City of Pittsburgh’s department of Parks and Recreation. They run a lot of programs and manage a lot of facilities. Included in their jurisdiction are community art programs. They work to promote the arts in several ways, and these mosaics were one of their programs.

   

This was a one week program where artist Stevo Sadvary worked with the neighborhood kids to create all sorts of animal murals. Stevo pre-cut the tile and outlined the designs and then helped the kids put the murals together. Stevo did the grouting himself, and several of the panels were then installed on the front of the Phillips Elementary School.

   

Stevo told us that the idea was to combine nature, art and community. He kept the designs simple for the kids, and they had a great time making the mosaics. There are currently 12 of the panels that they made that week on display on the front the school.

   

We don't yet know if the rest of the panels are hung inside the school or displayed at another location.

Perrysville Mural by North Hills Jr HS Students

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This mural is on a retaining wall at a gas station–convenience store. A North Hills Jr High School student mural, it seems to show features of past and present Perrysville.

American Flag Mural by Sto Rocks HS Students

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A simple rendition of the American flag painted by high school students along the Montour Trail.

Images of Rankin by Connie Merriman

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Pearl Hughey, Rankin Borough Councilwoman; Barbara Edwards, President Rankin Community Development Corporation; Lila Vilar, Rankin Christian Center; Reverend William Brammer, Executive Director, Rankin Christian Center; Jeff Brooks, Community Organizer, Mon Valley Initiative
 
In 1996 Rankin set out to convert a weedy, empty lot into a small park. They built a small pavilion at the one end and had murals done on the large, cement retaining wall along the back of the lot. Artist Connie Merriman worked with 12 Woodland Hills School District students to create Images of Rankin.

James Milton, Local Businessman

The panels show locations around the community with some of the local residents. In the above image, James Milton of Milton’s Unique Hairworks was portrayed because of his contribution to Rankin’s business district.

Unknown Physician, Rankin Community Health Center; Rankin Mayor Matt Furjanic; Fleet Street 4h-Club members Amanda Tkach, Alissa Flanaghan, Unknown, Dara Hodge and George Tkach 4h-Club Advisor


Fleet Street 4H-Club Members:Unknown,Kareem Mohammed, Marcus Burkley, Bily Dutrievelle, George Tkach, Suliamon Muhammed, Amanda Tkach, Unknown

UPDATE, Aug 2013
It was thanks to an unknown reader (who contacted us with the information) that the people in the panels were identified. We were very happy to be able to put names to the faces.

Student Murals on the North Shore Trail

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In 1998 students from Oliver High School did these murals. They're only visible from the North Shore Trail, located underneath I579 (Veterans Bridge). Well sheltered from the elements, they’re still in very good condition and depict various local scenes and familiar symbols of the area.




Included in the series of panels is one with self-portraits of the students and teacher involved in the project.