Promotional photos were taken to show the life-sized characters along the base of the mural. Submitted photo
Daniel and Samantha Mann and Ashlyn Sloan spent six weeks drawing and painting the Kirklin mural.
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Walking through the Town of Kirklin, shoppers, diners, visitors and residents can now enjoy the newly completed Rails to Trails mural, made possible by a $10,000 grant from Indiana Public Art Activation.
Artist and developer Dan Mann has been a mainstay in Kirklin for more than a decade.
He and his brother, James “Chip” Mann, began fixing up some of the older buildings, received grants to put in sidewalks along Main Street and share an office building and museum full of original artwork in downtown Kirklin.
When nonprofit Main Street Kirklin received the beautification grant, Mann was the obvious choice.
He created the image of an old Travelers Point cowboy advertisement, a nod to the historic Kirklin trading post, and added in modern images of people walking down the sidewalk.
Mann enlisted recent college graduate and artist Ashlyn Sloan for the project and his wife Samantha did much of the painting.
The colorful, 40-foot design underwent several iterations, even as the project was going up on the wall.
“Some of the ideas came about as we were doing it. We were projecting the design up on the wall and would be out there until 2 a.m.,” Mann said. “Throughout the day, all kinds of people stopped by to talk about it, ask questions and tell us what they liked or made suggestions.”
As time went on, the group began looking at unique ways to create an interactive exhibit.
“We decided to do a scavenger hunt and added all kinds of animals and bugs throughout the mural. There’s a QR code hanging by the mural so when people stop by, it’s something extra to do while visiting,” Mann said. “We also made each of the modern characters life-size, which makes photos standing next to them pretty interesting.”
It’s not the first time Mann has been involved in public artwork in the small town.
He is the artist behind the interior mural in the tasting room at Travelers Point Distillery too. “For me, I like to add life to these buildings and I want the kids to have fun with it. It’s striking, it brings in visitors and people enjoy it. I hope we continue to add murals to Kirklin in the future,” Mann said.
Kirklin Main Street is gearing up for its annual Christmas in Kirklin event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 2. Shops along Main Street will be open with special sales and events. There will be holiday treats and festive music throughout the day.
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