Westfield artist Daniel Mann got a special assignment this summer.
Mann was commissioned by Kirklin Main Street through a state grant to put a large mural on the side of the building in Kirklin, a small town in Clinton County about 20 miles away from Westfield.
“The idea for the mural is rails to trails because the Monon Trail goes through Kirklin,” Mann said. “It’s a train with a traveler, and Kirklin was known for an outpost where (people) would trade furs.”
The 35-foot-by-25-foot top half is designed to look like a poster. The lower portion is 8 feet by 60 feet.
“Then down below there are a lot of characters that are walking on the sidewalks that are life-sized,” he said. “So, people can interact with it and take pictures. The idea that developed while we were doing it is it can be a scavenger hunt for kids — how many squirrels are (in) it or how many frogs are (in) it.”
Mann was assisted by artist Ashlyn Sloan, an Indianapolis resident who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. His wife, Samantha Mann, also assisted with the project.
“We also had six or seven volunteers, mostly high school or college age,” Mann said.
Mann said the trio worked together for about two months on the recently completed mural.
“We used a boom lift to get the spots up high,” he said. “Two of us were on the boom lift while the other was on the ground.”
Mann said he has ties to Kirklin as he and his brother, Chip, have done some development there the last 15 years.
“We saved some of the buildings through our development piece but there are a lot of businesses there, antique shops and restaurants, that sort of thing,” he said.
Mann was a professional artist for 12 years before concentrating more on his development company, KD Real Estate. Mann and his brother founded Kid Domino Museum, a Kirklin building displaying paintings from graphic novel series “Forbidden City” and other artwork.
Kid Domino Museum was founded and created by the brothers with Chip’s storytelling talent and Daniel’s artistic ability, they said.
