Some images of the dedication of two murals by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at Warner St, between M&T Bank Stadium and the city’s new Horseshoe Casino. The projects were designed and completed by Baltimore-based artists Richard Best, Stefan Ways & Pablo Machioli and Jessie Unterhalter & Katey Truhn.
Congratulations to community artist Iandry Randriamondroso on the successful completion of his B’MORE Birds project!
Over the course of the last several months, Iandry has worked closely with residents of the communities along the York Road corridor between Glenwood and 43rd street to create a series of five murals depicting native birds of the Govans forest patches. Last Friday, BOPA joined corridor residents, York Road Partnership, Govanstowne Business Association, Loyola York Road Initiative, Councilman Bill Henry and the Department of Transportation in celebrating Iandry’s work.
The Oriole
4331 York Road
Baltimore Orioles are bright orange birds with black and white wings that sound almost as beautiful as they look. Their smooth, whistling songs are commonly heard in orchards, backyards, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles mostly eat insects and fruit, such as raspberries and mulberries. Their sturdy, hammock-like nests are suspended from branches high in trees, woven together with grasses, hair, spider webs, twine, and wool.
The Cedar Waxwing
4811 York RoadCedar Waxwings are bold colored birds with rusty brown bodies, black face masks, and orange or yellow wax-tipped tails. They are often found in flocks, filling themselves with berries from a variety of plants, such as mulberry trees and honeysuckle shrubs. They are common in residential areas, staying in Maryland all year round.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker
5017 York Road
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are common woodpeckers found in wooded areas that have a red cap, black wings, and a warm beige belly. Their large black bill is used for drilling into dead wood to pull out insects and larvae with their barbed tongues. They also drill cavities inside dead trees to lay 2-6 eggs and raise their young over a month-long period.
The Blue Jay
5219 York Road
Blue Jays are the local noisy neighbors in wooded residential areas, with their loud jaaaaay calls that easily distinguish them. They are pale to bright blue and white birds that eat a variety of insects, nuts, and seeds. They also sometimes eat eggs from other birds’ nests and are aggressive at the local bird feeder. Blue Jay eggs are blue to light brown, within nests placed approximately 20 feet above ground in trees.
The Black-and-White Warbler
5219 York Road
Black-and-white Warblers are small, black and white striped birds that live in forests. Often seen creeping along tree branches, they eat a variety of insect larvae hidden in the wood, along with ants and beetles. They spend the winter months in Mexico and migrate up to Maryland to breed in the summer, building well-hidden nests on the ground near tree trunks.
This project was made possible by funding from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation as part of Baltimore’s 1% for Public Art Program.
An example of Kareem’s “step script.”
Last week, ICY team members Sean Barton and Justin Green led two free workshops—one at the Westport Boys & Girls Club and one at the McElderry Park Community Center. Justin led the participants through a thorough history of western lettering, from the Roman era to present day, while Sean brushed out examples of each style.
Shortly before the Fly Paper Incident, Justin reviews student work.
The younger kids at the Boys & Girls Club were particularly impressive students—they were rapt with attention throughout the entire lecture, and did some beautiful work. We were also able to leave our “Lettering Guide”—tailored to Baltimore—at the Westport Rec Center to remind the kids about the different alphabets they worked on.
In the meantime, work continues at sites around the city. But each wall deserves its own post, so stay tuned.
—ICY Signs
Come on down to Baltimore Book Festival and see Steve “ESPO” Powers talk about his book A Love Letter To The City.
He’ll be at the Literary Salon tent on Rash Field today at 4:30pm.
224 N. Paca St., all dressed up.
What’s new in Baltimore?
ICY Signs is open for business and signs are in the works. While most of the team is out in the field starting work on our third wall, Justin Green is holding things down at the shop—talking to business owners, taking measurements and sketching layouts.
Come by the shop and see what we’re up to—we’ll probably be there. If Justin’s around, lucky you. Ask him for his thoughts on opacity.
Golden hour along 295—nice time to be done with wall one.
Baltimore, that is.
David Byrne said it first, and now we’re saying it a little louder. If you look at the phrase from the right angle, it lines up perfectly with the “BALTIMORE” smoke stack—keep your eyes peeled on 295. Or on Instagram—Steve photographed it from the side of the highway so you don’t have to.
Thanks Sean Barton, Mike Levy, Andy Dolan, Maggie Villegas and Lynne Kirsner!
On to Annapolis Road…
— ICY Signs
Come for the free signs, stay for the avocado.
Steve Powers & the ICY SIGNS team have arrived and they’re setting up shop now at 224 N Paca St in Lexington Market. In addition to using the sign shop as a staging area for their cross-city mural project, they’ll be making free hand-painted signs for Baltimore businesses starting this week.
In need of a sign? email icybaltimore@gmail.com.
Custom signs take time, so make sure to get your request in early!
