Granton's Grad's Mural
Displayed on Water Tower
2021
Kylie Ganther designed this mural on the
Marshfield Utilities water tower on the south end of Marshfield.
The mural
showcases different elements that make Marshfield special,
such as the
Rotary Winter Wonderland lights, biking trails and beautiful recreation areas.
Submitted
photos
By Valorie Brecht
Kylie Ganther of the Chili area has always loved
creating art. She has even won a couple contests for her artwork. However,
recently she was surprised to have her artwork displayed on a much larger scale
than ever before.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to make art
and have it represent the town of Marshfield,” said Kylie.
Marshfield Utilities conducted a contest for
people to design a mural that would be put on the company’s water tower along
Highway 13 on the south end of Marshfield. Kylie, who is a Granton High School
alumna, recently found out she won the contest.
“I was ecstatic, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t
believe I was actually chosen.’ I was very, very excited that my art was going
to be on a water tower.”
Along with her design being featured, Kylie also
received a $500 check as a prize. On Oct. 28, workers finished installing the
mural on the tower as a giant vinyl sticker.
Kylie found out about the contest through a
family member who saw it online and forwarded the link to her.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity and a
fun project to do,” said Kylie.
She is a second-year graphic design student at
UW-Stout, so the contest was right up her alley. There were not many guidelines
for the contest, other than the design had to represent Marshfield. In crafting
her design, Kylie thought about business that employed a lot of people in
Marshfield, including the medical complex and the construction industry. She
also thought about places people enjoyed in Marshfield, like Wildwood Park and
Zoo, Upham Mansion, Jurustic Park and the World’s Largest Round Barn.
“I wanted to tie together some of the best parts
of Marshfield in a type of collage. Then, as I was working on it, I had the idea
of a collection of stickers and stamps put together,” she said.
Kylie used the Procreate app for artists to
sketch her design and manipulate it. She worked on the design whenever she had
extra time. It took her about a month to complete, with her working around a
job, summer college class and Tae Kwon Do classes.
She was not sure how many other people submitted
entries in the contest, but “there are a lot of talented artists in the area, so
I feel honored to have been chosen,” she said.
Having her artwork chosen is the latest step in
Kylie’s journey as an artist. Her father, Shawn Ganther, is a veteran artist
whose work has appeared in shows at the Lincoln Center and Pentagon and in a
permanent exhibit at the National Veterans Art Museum. So, Kylie grew up around
art.
“As soon as I could hold a crayon, it was art all
the time,” said Kylie.
“In early high school, I started to consider art
as a job to pursue. I took a graphic design class and loved it, so I decided to
pursue that. And UW-Stout has a great art and design program – it’s actually one
of the best in the country,” she said.
Besides graphic design, Kylie also really enjoys
creating illustrations.
“The mural is in the illustration style that I
like to use. I like to use drawn elements for my graphic design work,” said
Kylie.
Her ideal career would tie together graphic
design and illustrations. For now, she hopes to keep growing as an artist and
finding more opportunities to share her art with the community.
“I love art because it is a fun way to express
yourself. In a way, it’s part of you you’re putting out to the world, so I
really enjoy that aspect of it. It’s something that anyone can enjoy and
appreciate.”
Kylie Ganther graduated from the Granton High
School
and is a second-year graphic design student
at UW-Stout.
Her work has been featured in a big way,
as her mural
design was put on a Marshfield water tower.
Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI
November 17, 2021
Transcribed by
Dolores
M. Kenyon, November 18, 2021.
Web page by
James W. Sternitzky PhD,
November 21, 2021.
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