Murals to liven up concrete floodwalls for Hoosiers

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. -- Scenes of ferry boats and stately mansions are unfolding along the floodwall in Jeffersonville, linking southern Indiana to an Ohio River art project that stretches from Steubenville, Ohio, to Paducah, Ky.\nTwo of three planned murals facing Riverside Drive are almost finished, and the third should be done by the end of October. After an estimated $53,000 is raised to pay for the project, supporters hope to fund dozens of additional murals on the floodwall in the coming years.\nJason Brake, a 27-year-old artist from Cincinnati, has been working since mid-August to replace the dull concrete barrier with a 100-foot-wide splash of history.\nReggae music was floating from Brake's radio under a sparkling blue sky recently as he put the final touches on a portrait of Jeffersonville's shoreline from the early 1900s, complete with horse-drawn wagons and the Big Four Bridge.\n"I hope that it brings people to experience art that usually don't," Brake said, adding that so far he has received "nothing but positive comments" about the panels.\nA committee of civic leaders has been raising money for the project for months, and additional funds are still needed for the current phase. Barbara Donahue, a co-chairwoman of the Jeffersonville Floodwall Art Committee, predicted that the murals will enhance tourism and complement the Ohio River Greenway, a recreation trail planned for the shore.\nAbout $14,600 has been raised for the murals, according to figures provided by the Jeffersonville clerk-treasurer's office. John Gilkey, a co-chairman of the art committee, said he was confident the rest of the money would be donated before the project is finished.\nThe committee hired Robert Dafford, the owner of Dafford Murals, to oversee the project. Dafford has been a muralist for 35 years, and for much of that time his company has been doing murals in the cities and towns of the Ohio River Valley. Murals have been completed in Steubenville and Portsmouth, Ohio, and in the Kentucky cities of Covington and Paducah.\nDafford, 54, also has a personal connection to the floodwalls. His company is based in Lafayette, La., which was in the path of Hurricane Rita. He said his home escaped major damage, but an aunt and uncle who live in suburban New Orleans lost their home to Hurricane Katrina. One of his workers was also left homeless by Katrina, and he said numerous murals that he has painted in New Orleans over the years might disappear forever as the facades of damaged buildings are demolished.\nThe three murals in Jeffersonville cover a total of 100 feet in width, and they are 12 feet high. Brake said he would probably use at least 40 gallons of paint before sealing the work with a urethane coating that resists graffiti.\nJim Keith, executive director of the Clark-Floyd Convention and Tourism Bureau, said there "seems to be a lot of enthusiasm" about the project in southern Indiana and from visitors who see the artwork while dining at Jeffersonville's row of restaurants along the shoreline.\nParking spaces in front of the murals will eventually be replaced with grass, Keith said. More artwork could be done on the opposite, or north, side of the wall, and he said there is enough space for a total of 13 or 14 panels between Southern Indiana Avenue and the Clark Memorial Bridge.