Tech center mural brings artwork to life

LAHARPE — Max Grundy’s latest public art project is also his largest.

For the past month or so, Grundy and wife Candace have been painting a mural on one of the front buildings at the Regional Rural Technical Center in LaHarpe.

The 400-square-foot mural pays homage to several of the RRTC classes held at the former Diebolt Lumber complex, most prominently welding, construction and wind farm technology.

There are several other little Easter eggs for eagle-eyed spectators. A silhouette of local businessman Ray Maloney — the driving force behind getting the RRTC off the ground in 2016 — and his dog are included in the artwork, in front of a landscape of rolling hills, beneath an unfurled American flag.

Maloney owns the complex and hired the Grundys to bring the mural to life.

At 10 feet tall by 40 feet wide, the mural is significantly larger than Grundy’s designs on buildings surrounding Iola’s downtown square.

After spending about a week devising several sketches, Max Grundy then transposed those drawings onto plastic sheets, in order for the images to be projected onto the side of the building.

From there, it took about three weeks to paint the mural, after the cinderblock wall was cleaned and sanded down.

Special oil-based and enamel paints are being used to ensure the images won’t fade any time soon, he noted.

The Grundys are putting the final touches on the mural this week, and expect to be finished by the end of the week.

Several other buildings on the property are getting fresh coats of paint as well.

The Regional Rural Technical Center offers welding, construction trades, automotive repair and wind farm technology courses.

Classes will resume in August.