For Michael Rehm of Butler, the world has become about deep blue paint and glittery fish in funny hats.

Although Rehm has spent about 800 hours painting these images in the aquatic mural at the Butler Public Library, federal funds will enable him to work at other sites in the city.

Employed by the Family Service Corps, an AmeriCorps program hosted by Family Services of Butler Memorial Hospital, Rehm developed the children's gallery at the Associated Artists of Butler County Art Center before expanding the library mural, which he began in 2003 as a freelance artist.

Devoting 400 hours to the first phase of the library project, Rehm enlisted the help of "kids of all ages" to create the festive seascape of whales, octopuses and other aquatic creatures swimming around the shelves of books.

"The unique thing about it," explained Rehm, "is much of (the mural) is relief, so some of the more focal points are three-dimensional. I never counted the fish, but there has to be hundreds of them - probably close to 1,000 of them at this point.

"Every now and then, you'll find a hat on them," he said, describing hide-and-seek activity sheets he designed to accompany the mural, which was created with ordinary house paint and plasterboard, then protected with multiple coats of varnish.

"In the sand, over 100 little objects are hidden," he went on, "from teacups to jack-o'-lanterns to keys to a little dog about to use the fire hydrant."

Rehm's initial work on the mural was financed by a library patron as part of the building expansion campaign, he said. But since that work didn't fulfill his vision of the project, Rehm applied to FSC in hopes of continuing his work.

Delighted with the prospect of adding Rehm's mark to the library and other city venues, FSC agreed to hire him, said coordinator Karen Zapp, explaining the agency hires between 25 and 30 people each year to assist nonprofit agencies.

"Most go above and beyond what the staffs can do," Zapp said of FSC employees like Rehm.

"That's our goal: to enhance what they've got or to start something new," she said of Rehm's continuing work on the mural, which was dedicated Wednesday.

"We expanded it with submarines, Swedish fish and strange little whatnots," Rehm said of the portion of the project financed by FSC.

"Even though you go in and see it and you're pretty sure you know what's on the walls, the next time there may be something different. … We added things this time around. There's glitter all over the place: Hit the light just right and (the images) just kind of burst with color."

Librarian Lori Campbell, who works in the children's section of the library, praised Rehm's work in transforming the room. "I love to stand back when they come down the ramp into this room," she said, explaining how children respond to Rehm's work.

With the library project now complete, Rehm will finish out his AmeriCorps contract by painting murals on four walls in a child care room at BMH and on exterior walls at the Paul Laurence Dunbar Community Center on Pillow Street. He also is set to paint a mural depicting spectators around the boxing gym at Specialty Outreach Services, a youth mentoring program at the Cubs Hall.

FSC has its sights set on additional mural sites, said Zapp, but administrators are hesitant to become overzealous in committing Rehm's time.

Despite his recent work in Butler, Rehm said he didn't set out to paint large surfaces.

"I don't really consider myself a muralist, but it seems to be what I'm doing this year," said Rehm, who began some years ago as a fine arts student at Carnegie Mellon University.

"After a year, I realized I'm not the kind of person who does gallery art," he explained. "I took about six years off, where I did everything from silk-screening to working in libraries to painting houses.

"Somewhere in that period I decided I kind of have a knack for working for kids. So I started doing activity books," he went on, recounting how he completed a degree in graphic arts about a decade ago at the University of Pittsburgh.

Working later as a self-employed artist, Rehm gravitated toward nonprofit organizations like the library, historical society and city and county bicentennial projects.

"I kind of have to be here because of family reasons right now," he explained of his decision to approach FSC. "If they can foot the bill to do some things … to liven up the city: That's a good thing to me."

Although Rehm was hired in 2004 for the standard two-year AmeriCorps shift, the unusual nature of his work prevents him from working in standard, eight-hour periods. Working at the library, for instance, required Rehm to work only during off hours - usually on weekends due to the lengthy preparation and cleanup required. For this reason, Rehm's time painting murals will be tracked on an hourly instead of weekly basis - extending his completion date beyond this year.

When his AmeriCorps work concludes, Rehm said he will market his children's activity books and other projects under his business name, Uncle Mike.