News : Vinton Guild of Fine Arts continues to Paint the Town...Beautiful

The Vinton Guild of Fine Arts is at it again! In addition to the butterfly that can be seen across the alley from City Hall, the Guild has added a new piece of interactive art to the alleyways in Vinton with the Back Alley Art program.

If you look to the east, off of 1st Ave. on the wall of the iVinton office, (in the alley of course) there is a brand new picture. The scene resembles a rainy day at the park complete with an umbrella for residents to stop and enjoy and yes, take a selfie with.

The Back Alley Art projects are created with a dual purpose in mind. The goal is to beautify the otherwise ignored and sometimes boring locations in the alleys while creating a fun place to pose for a picture.

Artists on the latest project included: Kim Fischels, Kim Frazier, Anita Gordon and Maggie Johnson. Fischels designed the painting and Frazier hosted the group at her home giving them a place to create the mural. Tharp Design installed the butterfly mural and Scott Wood, a local carpenter, installed the park mural.

The group has also designed kiddie murals for children to enjoy. They had them on display at Boomtown last year. The group has a home for one of them but is seeking an alley for the second.


If you've been to Kiwanis Park you may have been looking for the traditional boring garbage cans to throw your trash away. But instead, you found gorgeous receptacles in the park, painted with flowers, balloons, and an underwater design. The Guild made these possible as well. They call these their "Art Cans."

The large murals to date have cost a few thousand dollars in materials each. The cost does not include fees for the artists, they have not been paid for their time but have donated their time to make all of this possible. "Costs are basically paint and supplies, and the ACM panels, which have gotten really expensive. If/when we do a mural directly on the wall, there will also be external equipment and prep costs," said Anita Gordon a member of the Guild.

The "Rainy Day in the Park" mural is the second of three that the group has planned with funding from the Vinton Community Foundation. If you would like to consider a donation to these projects, you can direct them to:

Vinton Guild of Fine Arts
PO Box 112
Vinton, IA. 52349