Mendel's Murals Sponsors Public Forum

Mendel's Murals is proud to provide the logistics, funding and posters for "Third Avenue United and The Importance of Saskatchewan Heritage" Recent developments have left the Third Avenue United Church building in Saskatoon vulnerable to demolition. To raise awareness of this important issue, Great Places and Mendel’s Murals are co-sponsoring a public forum at the Church to discuss the heritage significance of this building and the value of heritage architecture. On Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 7:00pm, the public is invited to hear three speakers including the entertaining Bill Waiser, author of the award-winning Saskatchewan: A New History; Dave Denny, Chair of the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee; and award-winning heritage architect Allan Duddridge of Stantec Architecture, all of whom will discuss related architectural issues and why the roof design helps the building have the best acoustics in the city – a fact that will be demonstrated by soprano vocalist Danika Loren. The event is moderated by Jason Wall, manager of the Western Development Museum. These engaging panelists will discuss why heritage matters, why old buildings may be undervalued, and options to adapt the Third Avenue Church to a new purpose and modern uses. A public discussion will follow, and all are welcome to participate. Admission is free, and attendees will have an

opportunity to sign a petition. Any proceeds from wine and snack sales will go to support the much-valued and imperiled Third Avenue United Church, for so long a beautiful landmark building defining a critical part of Saskatoon’s downtown core. The Third Avenue United Church is located at 304 Third Avenue North in Saskatoon. For more information, please visit www.friendsof3au.blogspot.com.

Mendel's Murals helps Install Artwork

Mendel's Murals had the honour of helping provide the installation for "Many Hands make Light Work" at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge on 20th Street in Saskatoon. Many Hands Make Light Work is the result of a partnership between artist Miranda Jones and the Children's Discovery Museum, with financial assistance by the City of Saskatoon,Saskatchewan Lotteries, and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology. Jones took silhouettes of art made by the children, as well as their hand prin

ts, and spun them together into a piece called Many Hands Make Light Work. The piece casts a complex shadow across the lodge floor that changes through the day. Organizers of the art project hope the piece will help children in the community feel pride in their community. The project organizer, Children's Discovery Museum, is working to create a world-class children's education facility in the current Mendel Art Gallery building after it is vacated.

Fundraiser for Filipino Mural

Today we are kicking off a fundraiser to restore the Filipino Mural which had been destroyed in 2009. You can now support our project by purchasing one of our silkscreen Perehudoff "Bass Player" prints at the Stall Gallery. The prints were created by artist Henry van Seters as a tribute to murals by Saskatchewan artist William Perehudoff (see image of print in previous blog entries). Only 200 numbered prints were produced, with the plates destroyed after the print run. All 200 of the "Combo" print were sold out last year, with only 44 of the "Bass Player" prints remaining available. The remaining prints are 19" by 26" on archival artist paper. They sell for $140 each. They make a great Christmas gift, especially if you already have the other companion print.

The money we raise will be used to recreate the colourful 12 ft x 24 ft Filipino Mural which had been destroyed in 2009. The mural depicts Filipino traditional culture. It was important to our Filipino Community and was a valued part of our Saskatoon culture. Our plan is to use the funds from this fundraiser, together with the surplus from last year, to repaint an exact copy of the original mural and to locate it prominently and permanently downtown. The replica mural will be painted with enamel paint on aluminum panels, so it will be very durable. We have not yet determined the downtown location (suggestions welcome).

For more info please visit or call:

Stall Gallery
www.thestallgallery.com
Hours: Wed-Fri 12pm-4pm; Sat 8am-2pm
105-120 Sonnenschein Way (Next to the Farmers Market)
653-0800

Fundraiser Generates $12,500 Surplus

Our fundraiser was a great success! We sold out all of the "Combo" prints and only a few of the "Bass Player" prints remain. We raised $45,102, which is about $12,500 more than the city had budgeted. Henry Van Seters and Dave Denny recently appeared before City Council and asked that the surplus be applied to our next Mendel's Murals project to restore the Filipino Mural. We hope for a decision from City Council within a month. For those still hoping to buy a print please contact dave.denny@pelicanproperties.ca

We're Done!

On November 17 the entire mural room was fully reconstructed and shown for two days to media and the public. Thereafter the murals were crated for storage. When the last crate was done we had a toast. Wish you could have been there Brenda, Julie, and Lynn.

Room Reconstructed

The original mural room at Intercontinental Packers is being recreated within the Sign Shop in the City Yards. The image transfer to panels has gone very well, although there have been many unanticipated hurdles. The panels preserve every crack and the texture of the walls as they were in their original building. The photo above shows the recreated mural room, which will be finished by Wednesday, Nov 17. Thereafter it will be disassembled, crated, and stored at City Archives until it can be shown. The University of Saskatchewan has expressed interest in exhibiting the room prior to its installation in the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, our fundraiser continues. We've already sold nearly half the prints, raising approximately $25,340.

Print Sale to Raise Shortfall

The funds are not yet in place to finance the remaining work on the murals. While the images have been safely transferred to canvas, they still must be transferred onto solid panels so they can be exhibited. So far only $55,000 has been raised of the $125,000 needed to complete the project, but work is going ahead anyway. For this reason we are selling prints to raise the remainder. We are offering for sale a limited set of 200 hand-cut silkscreen prints of the murals, by artist Henry van Seters for $140 each. All proceeds will be donated to the fund to restore the murals. The prints can be purchased exclusively at the Mendel Gift Shop.

Contributors to this fundraiser include artist Henry van Seters, with layout by Hal Shrenk Graphic Design, and printing facilities thanks to Novatex Graphics. Paper was donated by Coast Paper with sample frames provided by Cindy Moleski Photography and Framing. Advertising is provided by Saskatoon Star Phoenix with advertising consulting thanks to Tap Communications. Project coordination has been provided by the staff and management of the Drinkle 3 Building.

Print #1 - Bass Player

Conservator Returns Oct 1 to Finish the Work

Ian arrives October 1 to begin the final phase of this project. He will again be assisted by Angela Christie and Jillian Cyca. The city has dedicated a large area in one of the buildings in the downtown City Yards for them to do the work. The area is perfect since it has plenty of space, an industrial compressor, and great ventilation. The goal is to have all the images mounted within six weeks, with the contingency of completing the work next spring if necessary.

Last year the mural images were all stripped off the walls and onto canvas. The remaining task is to mount the canvases onto fiberglass panels then wash off the fish glued canvas to reveal the original paint. It has proved very difficult to mount the canvas evenly onto the panels. Ian spent a great deal of time since last fall experimenting and inventing systems to adhere the canvas. What he came up with was a method whereby the panel and canvas are enclosed in plastic and a vacuum is used to force the canvas flush to the panel. Thereafter a specially designed heat blanket is used to evenly warm heat-activated glue which bonds the canvas to the panel. The temperature has to be evenly applied at exactly 75 degrees Celsius because if any area gets too hot the paint could burn, or the glue could harden. There are many details necessary to make the conditions just right.

Its Official! The Murals to Go in Art Gallery of Saskatachewan

The Mendel recently released the Functional Program which is the document created by Lundholm Associates specifying all the requirement for the new Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. The document calls for a dedicated room at the entrance of the Fred Mendel wing which will be a replica of the murals room. The Functional Program can be downloaded off the Mendel Gallery site. The text is below:

Perehudoff Room
An Antechamber to the Mendel Gallery will be dedicated for the Perehudoff murals, . . .

The design of the antechamber will be based on the dimensions of the old Mendel office as indicated in the drawing that follows. In addition to the Perehudoff murals, the antechamber will also display photographs, illustruations, and text that explain the history of the Mendel Art Gallery, and pay tribute to the legacy of Fred Mendel and the Mendel family.

Murals Room Demolished

This week the room was demolished where the murals had been. Work crews had been slowly progressing toward the room for several weeks. The rubble at the base of the wall in the photo is approximately where the rooms had been. The remaining walls of the old building will be knocked down in the coming weeks.

Mural Prints To Be Sold to Pay For Restoration

In June, 2010 Mendel’s Murals will begin selling prints of the Perehudoff murals to help raise the funds required to complete the restoration. The numbered and signed prints will be screen printed from hand-cut stencils using 1953 style type. The work will be performed by Henry VanSeters and by Hal Schrenk. Henry and his wife Cindy own Novatex Graphics, a printing company, and he is the artist who painted the 72 foot tall "Founders" mural on the side of the Drinkle 3 Building. Hal Schrenk owns Hal Schrenk Graphic Design, and he has agreed to provide design work. We have begun lining up merchant outlets where customers will purchase the prints. All the profits will go toward funding the mural restoration.

German Expressionist Style Mural in Weyburn Saved

The link below is a Leader Post story about another great Saskatchewan mural that was recently saved from the wrecking ball. Ian Hodkinson went down to Weyburn last month to determine the feasibility of restoring it.

http://www.leaderpost.com/travel/Mastering+preservation/2226970/story.html