Tobias Studios working on 30-by-60-foot building mural in Fort Wayne
By Lisa Esquivel Long for Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly | Indiana Economic Digest
Artist Jerrod Tobias of Tobias Studios works May 18 on details for his mural on Fourth Street near Wells Street.
Tobias and his wife, Kara Tobias, started the mural May 6 and expect to complete it in early June.
“I think we’ll call it ‘Acquiescence,’” Jerrod Tobias said. “It’s in honor of our natural history.”
The 30-by-80-foot mural features a howling wolf and two foxes, “creatures I’ve always loved,” he said. The Tobiases use a base palette that draws from natural light, and the blue in this mural is carried over from the others so there’s a continuity in the work, Jerrod Tobias said.
They got a good start on this mural, but soggy weather is slowing their momentum.
“We’re dodging raindrops like it’s our job,” he said.
The Tobiases received the commission from the building’s owner after the Bloomingdale neighborhood received a Neighborhood Improvement Grant last year.
Applications for this year’s program are open. The city of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division will award $50,000 in grants of up to $5,000 each to any registered city neighborhood association or one of the city’s four Area Partnerships.
Accepted projects must enhance the aesthetics of the neighborhood and can include items such as benches and community gardens. This year’s grants is using CEDIT money, so the program is open to all neighborhoods, not just those that have mostly low-income residents like last year, said Mary Tyndall, Community Development spokeswoman.
Information and guidelines about the grant program are at www.FortWayneNeighborhoods.org by clicking on the resources menu item. Letters of intent are due by June 28 and after that, neighborhood leaders will be invited to a workshop to refine their grant applications. Final applications will be due Aug. 30.
The Tobiases have painted several public murals around Fort Wayne, including the 300-foot mural on East Columbia Street near Three Rivers Apartments, for which they worked with Fort Wayne sculptor Cary Shafer, who created “Metaform” in front of it; the one depicting Native American folklore on the side of the Brass Rail along Sturgis Street; work on North Anthony Boulevard; and the owl with outstretched wings at Hop River Brewing Co., 1515 N. Harrison St.
The Tobiases are curating “Set & Setting: An Immersive Psych Installation” with 18 other artists, which opens 6-9 p.m. May 24 at Wunderkammer Company, 3402 Fairfield Ave. The psychedelic experience show will run until June 26.
