Dahlia Mural by Jon Minshull
We have had a make-over!!
Last week, the scaffolding came down revealing our new look. Not only have we changed colour to a tasteful and classy deep blue, but we’ve also had a super-sized mural painted of a beautiful bunch of flowers.
The artwork, entitled ‘Dahlias’, was commissioned by Julian Clark, owner of Heart of The Tribe Gallery. Julian has been a long standing supporter of the Glastonbury Mural Trail and this is not the first time he has funded a large scale mural for Glastonbury.
Sunflowers by Faye Suzannah, Waving Woman by Frank Harwood (Chilkwell Street), Adam & Eve by Frank Harwood (behind St. Ben’s Church) and Somerset Landscape by Jon Minshull (Corner Shop on Manor House Rd) were all sponsored by Heart of The Tribe, proving the gallery’s commitment to supporting access to visual arts within the Glastonbury community.
‘Dahlias’ was painted by Jon Minshull who is renowned locally for his murals. Jon is one of the 20 artists represented by Heart of The Tribe, and his work is well loved by the community, meaning he was the perfect candidate to execute this project.
Working alongside gallery manager and mural trail coordinator Kim von Coels, the artist designed his piece inspired by the blooms of Green Rabbit Flower farm in Devon.
The plan was to create something beautiful, eye catching and awe inspiring, to help draw people to the top of the high street; to support the businesses here, and to encourage visitors to venture “beyond the post office”.
The subject matter of flowers was chosen because of the sensitive location, as the new artwork overlooks the front garden of our lovely neighbours, The United Reform Church.
It was important to us not to alienate parts of the community who have more traditional tastes, and who are not usually into street art. The mural also serves to celebrate the achievements of Glastonbury in Bloom, which has won gold in the RHS South West in Bloom competition several years running, and has this year been selected as a finalist in the national ‘RHS in Bloom‘ competition.
Jon has painted several murals for The Glastonbury Mural Trail, which celebrates its 5 year anniversary on the 19th September. You can find out more about the trail and download a map of over 50 public artworks via the mural trail website www.glastonburymuraltrail.com. The gallery will be hosting an anniversary exhibition celebrating the Mural Trail and its artists from 12th September until the 19th of October. We will also be hosting workshops and events during Somerset Art Weeks, please sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with all our news.
Jon says of the overwhelmingly positive response: “Thank you so much. I’ve been very moved by the responses to the ‘Dahlia’ mural. Thank you to everyone who liked and commented in such a positive way. My hope and aim in being an artist is to uplift, inspire and bring joy and hope to as many souls as possible, and I’m always surprised and humbled in the diverse ways this unfolds. I don’t normally put information about my personal life here, but the response to this painting has made me want to share my own experience of it. My beautiful sister passed away a year ago last March. When she visited me in Glastonbury she always brought me Dahlias from her lovely garden. A year later exactly, I found myself painting this mural, fate conspiring to create a tribute of love and joyfulness for her life, and all the beautiful eternal moments shared. My Dad came up to visit from Devon while I was painting too.”
Below is a video created by Glastonbury Gabriel about the progress of the mural and and a short interview with Jon himself.
