Artist goes BIG with mural
Busy Butler artist Ian Thomas has almost completed his largest work: a mural about 40-feet tall by 90-feet wide.
In the midst of his full-time work as an artist, Thomas is creating a painting on the side of a building in Pittsburgh as the result of a program sponsored by the Sprout Fund.
For nearly six years, Sprout Public Art has been helping communities get together with artists to develop public art that enhances the urban landscape and considers the people of the community.
"I was fortunate enough that I was allowed to compete for all the (seven) communities and because I was picked by all of them I got to choose which one I wanted to do," Thomas said.
Curt Gettman, program manager for Sprout Public Art, said the initiative was modeled after a program in Philadelphia. "What we did differently and what is unique to Pittsburgh is our murals are a really close project between artist and community," Gettman said.
"One of the things that stood out about Ian was not only his strong portfolio but also he had experience as a painting contractor, so he had certain technical skills."
Around 3,000-square-feet of surface takes a lot of painting.
The finished product can be seen on the side of the building at 2227 Penn Ave. in the Strip District of Pittsburgh.
"It's on the side of an Asian market and they wanted an Asian theme," he recalled.
The name "City Lung" will be included, both in Chinese and English, in the huge mural.
The work was influenced, Thomas said, by his study at a Pottery Workshop Residency in Jindezhen, China, for six weeks in 2007.
"I really think that helped me get this one," he said.
Even though the mural is very large, Thomas' signature on it is very small. "I hope the work is cool enough that I don't need a huge signature," he said.Thomas knew he was going to be an artist from an early age. "I had very supportive parents," he said. "And in some terrible drawings I did as a child, they saw something."His talent developed through lessons as a child and then classes at Butler High School. "I really didn't like to do anything else," he admitted.Following high school, Thomas received a bachelor of fine arts degree in ceramic and painting studies from Slippery Rock University and a master of fine arts in ceramics from Texas Tech University.He works in both painting and ceramics. "I thought I was going to be a painter for a long time but I realized there are a lot more painters than ceramic artists," he noted.His work has been shown nationally, internationally and is part of several public and private collections. Selected images have also been published in books. Most recently The Museum of Fine Art in Las Cruses New Mexico has purchased his work for its permanent collection.The two groups Sprout Fund and Neighbors in the Strip will celebrate the new community mural with a dedication plus a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Mullaney's, 23rd and Penn Avenues, Pittsburgh.More information is available at the Web site, www.ianfthomas.com
