Out of the Aftermath of Ike came Paint the Town Seawall Beautification Project

By Katherine Adams

 
Nancy Wrister doesn’t draw or paint, but she likes it when others do. That’s why after Hurricane Ike turned Galveston’s beautiful beaches and streets into a tangled, flooded mess, she felt that there was a quick and fairly easy way to make things look a little better. 
“My thought was to put a prettier face on the Seawall right away, while the larger issues of reconstruction and funding were being addressed by the city, the county and bigger thinkers than myself,” said Wrister, a retired occupational therapist who moved to Galveston with her husband 10 years ago. 
And so the Paint the Town Seawall Beautification Project was begun. The result is some amazing ‘sit-able’ art. 
Wrister noticed that there were quite a few concrete benches on the Seawall in various stages of disrepair and thought they’d be a perfect blank canvas for an artist’s creative eye. 
She thought that if she could find some artists who would paint a colorful mural with their interpretation of something uniquely Galveston on each of the benches, it would improve the seawall’s sad and ravaged appearance and help begin to lift the spirits of hurricane-traumatized islanders. 
“Pretty wasn’t the priority in Galveston at that moment, but I thought I could do this and make the Seawall look so much better,” she said. “I wanted to do something that would make an immediate improvement without too many roadblocks. We used no government funds and relied solely on local talent. So I began contacting artists and then others came through word of mouth.” 

Local mural artists, art teachers and school kids created the artwork which all have a Galveston nature or history theme. “We’ve had a very positive response to this project,” she said. 
Shane McDermott, who moved to Galveston to pursue his art career, received a call from Nancy Wrister asking if he’d like to participate; he happily agreed. 
McDermott, who is a realtor for Joe Tramonte, never dreamed the bench would turn out to be more than just another work of art. 
“I sketched the design for the bench and I had it painted for some time when I remembered that someone had carved the words “I Love Dina” in the bench. I liked that and I left it there when I painted my mural,” he said. “When I decided to propose to my girlfriend, I went back and added the words: “Laura Hughes Will You Marry Me?” to the mural on the bench because I thought that might be a nice way to propose.”  

Last December he took Laura for a walk along the beach and surprised her with a bottle of champagne and an exceptionally creative marriage proposal. “Our parents were there and she was really surprised, and she said ‘yes!’” Shane McDermott’s work is on display at ArtWalk at the Seafarer’s Museum or online at www.sfmcdermottart.com.
After brainstorming about a sketch for his bench, local artist Shane Lassiter decided to create a mural to fit the form of the bench. “I did a treasure chest because the bench already kind of looks like one,” said Lassiter. “I was glad to be part of this project. There was no way this project wouldn’t help the Seawall look better, especially after the storm.” 
Lassiter, who is also a creative writer and draws a comic strip for Galveston Wizard, said that he was happy that everyone seemed to like his treasure chest. “We suffered enough, aesthetically, after the storm,” he said. “Adding color always helps.” 
Shane Lassiter’s work can be seen at Third Coast Bar at 2416 Postoffice or online at www.lassitermultimedia.com.
After the storm, the need for repair and recovery was so immense that it seemed overwhelming. 
“All the projects were so big, and they were all tied to government funding,” said Wrister. “The long term recovery committees were wonderful, but I’m glad we could do something simple that made an immediate improvement.”