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MARTA overpass mural design lauded at public meeting

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MARTA overpass mural design lauded at public meeting

Concept art provided by Felici Asteinza.
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Concept art provided by Felici Asteinza.

Concept art provided by Felici Asteinza.

By Duo-Wei Yang, contributor 

The MARTA overpass mural concept was met with enthusiastic acclaim when revealed at an Aug. 31 public meeting at Ebster Recreation Center.

Sarah Seaton-Todd who works for the Decatur Arts Alliance says that she “absolutely loves it.”

“I think it’s just abstract enough to be modern,” she said, “It’s not rough or blocky. It’s consistent with what we’re looking for.”

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Decatur citizen Judy Padgett lives close to the MARTA overpass and has been invested in the mural’s development. She, too, believes that artists Felici Asteinza and Joey Fillastre presented the right design.

“I like the freshness of it,” she said. “It’s not the typical diorama kind of thing. I think it should last for many years.”

The “freshness” may be where Asteinza and Fillastre drew their inspiration from. The duo researched plants, animals and insects native to the area when coming up with concept sketches.

“We wanted to investigate the things that were specific to Decatur because we wanted to make a design that was unlike any other place that we’ve painted before,” Asteinza said. “We wanted to make something that would go into the area and compliment it.”

The mural design was also inspired by the opinions of Renfroe Middle School and Decatur High School students.

“We asked kids what they wanted to see in their community and what their community meant to them. We’re really trying to involve all ages of the Decatur kids,” Seaton-Todd said.

The Decatur police department has also been a part of the mural project. Deputy Chief Scott Richards attended the Aug. 31 public meeting as a representative.

“I think it’s awesome. I think it’s a lot cleaner looking than what’s there and it’s amazing to see people with that kind of talent,” he said.

Asteinza and Fillastre plan to start painting the overpass free-hand in the beginning of October and estimate to finish in about a month.

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Concept art provided by Felici Asteinza.

Concept art provided by Felici Asteinza.

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