East Dallas neighborhood unites to create mural on fence
Residents of an East Dallas neighborhood gathered Thursday morning to add to a community mural on a fence.
John Harrell, an artist who lives in the Bryan Place neighborhood, and about 20 children from Dallas’ Exall Recreation Center summer camp united to work on the mural, which Harrell started in April.
The campers added their handprints onto the mural, which depicts a garden and flowers. The mural is located in an alley behind the 1400 block of Pecos St., near Bryan Street and a block away from Exall Park.
The fence divides Century Glass and Mirror from the neighborhood. Storms in the fall knocked down the old fence, prompting Century Glass to replace it. When Harrell saw the new bare wooden fence, he proposed the mural.
“Why stare at a boring fence when we can create a magnificent view?” Harrell said in a release.
Harrell, a Dallas native and a commercial art director, created a design using Photoshop. He showed his drawings to Century Glass, which gave him approval.
Harrell sanded, power washed and covered the fence in primer and will paint most of the mural. Neighbors and Century Glass donated money to him to help cover the supply costs.
Harrell hopes to finish the 1,700-square-foot mural in July.