
LEFT: Athens is on a colorful track, thanks to community murals like this one by OHIO studio art students for a rental property. RIGHT: OHIO painted this mural for a rental property owned by Peter Kostes, AB ā92, and Meredith Erlewine, AB ā95, proprietors of Athens Bicycle. Photographs by Edwin Flores-McDowell
Peter Kostes, AB ā92, and Meredith Erlewine, AB ā95, a married couple who own Athens Bicycle, along with several other buildings at the corner of Stimson Avenue and Cornwell Street, wanted a mural on one of them, a rental house. That art form has brightened Southeast OHIO of late.
After seeing the rendition at Athens Bread Company, they contacted one of their customers, John Sabraw, OHIO professor of art and Painting + Drawing chair, and the point person for that piece. He queried his students who had pitched in on it and found two interested parties, Samantha Slone, a senior studio art major from Springfield, and Tiffany Roenigk, a senior double major in psychology and studio art from Grafton, last summer.
They collaborated with Kostes and Erlewine on the design: a female mountain biker pedaling by an array of colors and, in the distance, a railroad track representing a train that once ran in the area.
āOur approach with any artist is to get out of the way,ā Kostes said. āWe had a great conversation with John about who we were and how we interpret the physical space where we run our business. From that, the general design was dreamed up by John, Sam, and Tiffany. We made a few tweaks but the overall design was purely the artists.ā
For Slone, these assignments taught her about commercial art and helped her develop a greater appreciation for public art.
āl never thought Iād love client work,ā said Slone, who is interested in environmental art. āBut it was really awesome to work with people who were so passionate about something.ā
āJon Greenberg, BSJ ā01, lives in Deerfield, Illinois, and has worked for ESPN, TouchVision, and Team Marketing Report.