Murals moving in on Morgantown

Thu, 09/26/2013 - 6:43am — John Embry

Local artist Gail Smrtic completed Morgantown’s latest mural Tuesday. With the help of her husband Gary and nearly 25 hours of work in 2 days time, Smrtic said she was tired, but the effort was worth it.

Smrtic, who is a member of the Butler County Arts Guild, has been an artist for many years with several fine works under her belt, but this piece, which can be found at 107 West Ohio St in Morgantown, is among the largest and most public pieces she has created.

“I’m happy with it,” she said. “I’m glad I could give something like this to the Morgantown and Butler County community. The arts are important and should be encouraged, especially in our local youth.”

The new mural, found its home on the side of the Beech Tree Media building though the combined efforts of the Arts Guild and Beech Tree owner Diane Dyer.

“The Arts Guild was in search of another place to put a mural and we were interested in sprucing up our building a bit, so it just worked out,” said Dyer. “Gail did a fantastic job. We’ve had a lot of compliments and many are stopping by to see it. It’s nice to have such talented people living here in Morgantown and Butler County and the Arts Guild is doing a fantastic job of helping to showcase that.”

According to Smrtic, the Arts Guild has big ideas for the community, not only through the visual arts, but also through theatre and music. “We are trying to bring our talents and culture back to the forefront of the community. The Arts Guild is just beginning, but we are starting to feel a bit of momentum,” she said. “These things take time and lots of hard work from lots of people. I’d encourage anyone interested in helping better the community to become involved in the Arts Guild.”

The Butler County Arts Guild is open to the public and meets on the last Thursday of the Month. Keep up with the latest happenings of the Arts Guild by following their efforts on Facebook here - www.facebook.com/ButlerCountyArtsGuild