Niles High School students create artwork along Second Street alleyway

Published 12:03 pm Wednesday, July 5, 2017

By Kelsey Hammon

An alleyway that once harbored little more than dust, broken glass and the miscellaneous scrawl of graffiti now features the work of some of Niles High School’s most talented artists.

From the side of the Swirlyz Frozen Yogurt building on Front Street, up to Second Street, colorful murals, portraits and designs in a variety of different styles are all part of a project to spruce up the alley.

Niles High School art teacher Peter Helm said he initiated the project with the goal to share students’ art with the community of Niles. 

“It is really frustrating when you have a lot of big talent and you do not get to expose them,” Helm said. “We make such cool stuff in the classroom, but nobody gets to see it. I wanted the kids that are really talented to be able to show off their art for everybody.”

More than a dozen students volunteered or were chosen for the project. The Niles Art Association approved a draft of students’ artwork before the work commenced.

Local business owners then gave the students permission to paint on their buildings.

On Friday afternoon, those passing along the sidewalks often paused to watch the students’ progress or examine the art.

“It makes Niles more fun,” Helm said.  “It shows that the community as a whole wants positive [projects like this]. Niles is open to really cool stuff and they want people to do things like this — by virtue of the fact that the art is here reflects the fact that there is a desire for it.”

At the side of the Swirlyz Frozen Yogurt building, a mural culminated into a variety of distinctive artistic styles that were represented. The artwork flowed together to create a larger piece, featuring a Geisha and a wolf, undersea scape, winged woman and a sky view.

Among those responsible for the mural was senior Cecily Kaufmann. Through an undersea scape, Kaufmann said she wished to create a window into a landscape not glimpsed in Michiana.

Kaufmann said she signed up to help with the project because she has a passion for art and is always looking for new opportunities to paint. 

“I have painted for as long as I can remember,” Kaufmann said. “[Painting] is something I would recommend to any kid with anxiety. It is a great way to express yourself.”

Kaufmann shared the side of the building with Vanya Ruppart, a Niles High School graduate, and junior Anna Stewart.

Ruppart created a woman’s silhouette growing wings and flying into a sunburst, while Stewart’s work depicted a Geisha, wolf and fire and lightning.

Just down the alleyway, near Second Street, Niles High School graduate Evan Robison’s painting spilled from the wall where he had painted a cityscape to the street. For Robison, every nook and cranny of the alleyway inspired him along the way, even a hole in the wall where bees buzzed in and out of was transformed into a painted beehive. The alleyway itself became a rainbow colored river, teeming with iridescent koi fish.

Robison said he wanted to create a piece of art that people could interact with, whether that means jumping down the alley from fish to fish or taking a picture in front of his city scape.

“When you want to connect with people, art is the way to do it,” Robison said.

When creating the colorful and vivid display, Robison said he also wanted to help people find a bit of solace in the creations.

Robison said his goal was to have the river traverse the entire alleyway. While some might see a lot of work in such an ambition, Robison merely saw a canvas with unlimited potential.

“Give me a paint brush and a blank canvas and I can make a world,” Robison said. “With art I just feel so much freedom.”

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