The Allen County Bicentennial Executive board announced 15 artists chosen to paint murals on sculptures around the county as part of the “I Am Allen” project.
Bryan Ballinger’s studio is full of sculptures, ranging from mini to large, and they all depict characters of Ballinger’s own creation – a fox in crocs, a toad with a homemade banjo and various critters in wigs.
Ballinger was chosen as one of 15 artists to create the murals, but the statue they’re painting on is the same – a nearly seven foot fiberglass “I-N,” with the “I” made out of the shape of Indiana.
The sculpture will be installed in Hoagland, in southeast Allen County, and the mural Ballinger has created mixes some of the town’s history with his own signature flare.
“I just love characters, I love cartoons, I love comics, I love children’s picture books. So, I figure if I put my heart into it and it’s really what I like to do, there’ll be an honesty to it and it’ll resonate with people.”
The mural depicts a cow on a train, pulling a stack of pancakes past a farmer frog. Ballinger says he pulled from things about the town of Hoagland, such as their pancake breakfast, to design it.
Ballinger wrote and illustrated several children’s books and the artist behind the Blue Birds mural in downtown Fort Wayne. The sculptures are planned to be installed in October.
The full list of 15 artists chosen for the murals:
- Theopolis Smith III, Brewer Park in Fort Wayne
- Terry Ratliff, downtown Fort Wayne
- Julie Wall, Pufferbelly Trail in Fort Wayne
- Matthew Plett, Fort Wayne Airport
- Jordan Kurzen, Saint Joseph Township
- Bonnie Andrews, LaRez Neighborhood
- America Carrillo, New Haven
- Debera Kuntz, Zanesville
- Mitchell Egly, Woodburn
- Erin Salyers and Jared Applegate, Leo-Cedarville
- Jeremy Stroup, Huntertown
- Susanne Rhee, Harlan
- Tim Parsley, Grabill
- Jeff Aldo Anderson, Monroeville
- Bryan Ballinger, Hoagland
“Public art activates public spaces, and it creates a cultural destination. An educational project, like this, helps us tell Allen County’s story and engage with an audience while visitors move from business to business within our communities,” said Alexandra Hall, A H Public Spaces Consulting, in a release announcing the murals. “Indiana is filled with talented artists, and we look forward to seeing what the creatives in this community do with these sculptures.”
According to officials, the project is funded by Hanning & Bean, the Allen County Board of Commissioners, the City of Fort Wayne, NewAllen Alliance, BF Goodrich/United Steelworkers Local 715, Knight Foundation, Barrett & Stokely, Visit Fort Wayne, St. Joseph Township, the Fort Wayne Airport Authority, and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
