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Your LOCAL Media since 1918! VOLUME 107: ISSUE 09
Junior high volleyball photos - Inside!
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Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Artist begins work on Ryley mural
Ryley resident and artist Vance Heslin has begun painting his mural on the Ryley Community Resource Centre, formerly the ATB, after his design was approved by the Village Council during their regular meeting in July. KARI JANZEN PHOTO Kari Janzen Staff Reporter Ryley resident and artist Vance Heslin has begun painting his mural on the Ryley Community Resource Centre, formerly the ATB, after his design was approved by the Village Council during their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 16. “Years ago, I wanted to do a mural on a different building but unfortunately that never came to pass. I had mentioned it to some friends, and they said I should bring it up to council. This is going to be the first of many murals that the Village is going to be having done. They want to have various local artists do murals on different public buildings, including the Village office, the library, and the rink,” Heslin said. To describe the mural, Heslin says he calls it traditional native art. “I tried to incorporate as many different animals as I could, because the title
of this one is going to be ‘Community Together,’ and our community is made up of a lot of different people. I believe that it all works together to be a good thing,” he said. Heslin said from the time he had the idea for the drawing, to now, he has put in over 115 hours of time and effort. “I sat down the other day to figure out how many hours I’ve put into it so far, and from concept to this point, about 117 hours. That’s from just a pencil drawing on a napkin, to a sketch, to a draft, to meeting with different members of the community, bringing it up to council members, putting together a draft for them, going out and getting the supplies, prepping the wall, and starting the drawing,” he said. Preparation for the mural included having the wall washed and painted white. “The Village had it power washed, they had the flower pot and bench moved away, and then I did a coat of
white,” Heslin said. This is Heslin’s first mural, and he said many people walking by have stopped to talk with him. “Lots of people have commented on it, and they are enjoying it immensely. I've actually had offers to do other murals,” he said. Heslin plans to have the mural completed before it snows, and said that he’s been working on the mural in temperatures as low as 5C. “I'm hoping to have it done before the snow flies, but with the way the weather is going it's hard to say. So far it has been pretty good. I've been working down to plus five degrees,” he said. Heslin said once the mural is complete, he is looking to have a plaque mounted beside it, providing a detailed explanation on the work of art. “In the end, I also want to get a plaque put up here that's going to tell about the art, about the mural, about
myself, and about the reserve I belong to,” he said. Heslin said he discovered his love of art when he was a child, when he would doodle during class. “It was many, many years ago, when I started drawing in school instead of doing my work. I just like being able to create something out of nothing,” he said. In all of Heslin’s works, he includes a signature star. “The star is in every sketch, and I've also started incorporating the moon as well. It’s a star on a star. It has so many different meanings. It's earth, wind and fire, and the four points are mind, body, soul, and spirit. The first reason I put it in was because of the Star of David, a Christian element,” he said. Heslin has lived in Ryley with his wife Cyndy since 2006, and raised three sons, having moved from southern Ontario. Heslin belongs to the Garden River First Nations Reserve in Ontario.