OLDSMAR \u2014 Over the past few years, many public art pieces have been painted over, torn down or otherwise removed for a variety of reasons, from a change in property owners to new state laws prohibiting street art.<\/p>\n
But in Oldsmar, that trend is being reversed, thanks to the Public Art Committee Advisory Board\u2019s initiative to restore existing works that have fallen into disrepair or just need a refresh.<\/p>\n
Recently, Noelle Stillman, a New England native and former Palm Harbor resident who now lives and works in Boston, returned to the Sunshine State to refurbish her colorful Sheffield Park mural, \u201cNative Balance,\u201d a butterfly and nature-themed piece she painted at the entrance to the Oldsmar park in 2018.<\/p>\n
Stillman said she was surprised and thrilled to have the rare opportunity to refresh her work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised because it\u2019s unusual, especially with a mural on a road,\u201d Stillman said in late February as she put the finishing touches on the mural\u2019s restoration along with Linda Norris, the former City Council member who spearheaded the start of Oldsmar\u2019s public art program while she was in office.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very humbling to be asked because it was a labor of love to create. It was my first project, and it kick-started a lot of things for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Stillman was selected for the project, the second for the now-defunct North Pinellas Cultural Alliance nonprofit and the second for the city of Oldsmar, it was the first time she had full control of a project, and she said at the time it was \u201cthe most supportive and uplifting experience I could have asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing murals at the Palm Harbor Public Library and in Tallahassee, Stillman moved back north to be near family in 2023, where she became a teaching and freelance artist in Revere, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
But despite the level of success and satisfaction she has attained, Stillman said she\u2019s always held a soft spot in her heart for the area and for Oldsmar, where Stillman believes the arts and culture are truly appreciated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOldsmar wants to celebrate the arts,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cthere are so many areas we need to advocate for, and we need advocates. And Linda Norris has done a wonderful job of advocating for the arts in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris, who was on the original NPAA board while serving on the council starting in 2013, credited City Manager Felicia Donnelly and Cultural Affairs Programmer Joan Byrne for creating the Public Art Committee Advisory Board that decided to appropriate some of the PAC\u2019s $40,000 in biennial funding for restorations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFelicia decided to form an advisory board last year, and she suggested we look at revitalizing existing murals instead of investing in new ones,\u201d Norris said while noting the city\u2019s public art collection includes murals at R.E. Olds Park as well as sculptures at the Oldsmar Sports Complex and outside the City Hall auditorium.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, this is our first restoration project, and it\u2019s been a collaborative effort to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Norris, Sherwin Williams provided the special outdoor paint and sealers that Stillman used, while former mayor Eric Seidel and his wife, Amber, helped with the costly insurance needed for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have done it without them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Norris noted when Stillman learned of the advisory board\u2019s plan in August, \u201cshe was so happy! She was blown away!\u201d<\/p>\n
For her part, Stillman admitted she was thrilled to hear what the board had planned, for several reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope other communities take the opportunity to save and preserve public art,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think case studies like this are powerful, because people can take inspiration from it and see what\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stillman added, \u201cMurals can be an ephemeral thing, and they\u2019re meant to represent the community\u2019s values at the moment. But the fact they chose to restore this piece shows public art and advocacy is here to stay, and that the city of Oldsmar is a really special place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OLDSMAR \u2014 Over the past few years, many public art pieces have been painted over, torn down or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[67234,12223,596,13360,105949,135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-239137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-murals","9":"tag-oldsmar","10":"tag-pinellas-county","11":"tag-public-art","12":"tag-sheffield-park","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-headlines","15":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}