By Ellen Eason

When you walk past Eighth Avenue at Irving Street you will see colorful images of what is special about the Inner Sunset – flowering gardens, the bustling farmers market, a restaurateur serving a slice of pizza, Frisbee players, children with hula hoops, Golden Gate Park, a soaring hawk and the glowing sunset. These sights and more are depicted on a new community mural created by nearly 200 volunteers.

Last June, I was excited to see a flyer inviting residents to a mural workshop. Art and building community are two of my passions, so I was thrilled to participate in this project.

“We hoped to have a handful of people show up to stir a discussion and gather feedback for what the community wished to see on the wall of their neighborhood,” said artist Robert Louthan, who led the project. He was shocked when more than 70 people showed up. He and an artist friend, Deirdre Weinberg, both submitted proposals and made a pact to bring on the other to share the opportunity and assist if either was awarded the grant. They brought refreshments and baked goods to share.

Louthan began the workshop by asking, “What do YOU love about living here? What is important to YOU?” Participants shared and then illustrated their ideas.

“We gathered for two hours to ideate and design this mural together. By the end of our time together the composition was designed in full for later refinement,” he said. “Every single suggestion offered made it into the mural.”

The idea for a mural originated with local merchants.

“The vision was to create a public art piece that would add vibrancy and character to the commercial corridor, help deter graffiti and foster a sense of community,” said Inner Sunset Merchants Association (ISMA) President Susannah Wise.

“ISMA helped to submit a project request as part of the District 7 participatory budgeting process,” she said. “Once the project was awarded funding, the grant was administered by the San Francisco Arts Commission, and that’s when artist Robert Louthan became involved. He applied for the grant, identified the ideal location, and conducted extensive community outreach to shape the mural’s scope and ensure it aligned with the neighborhood’s vision.”

After the arts commission approved the design, community paint days were scheduled for two Sundays in September. I eagerly joined other volunteers lining up. We were given a sheet showing a section of the mural and a palette of paints. Outlines of the mural elements were painted on the wall, and Louthan and Weinberg offered helpful tips. I painted patrons at an outdoor café and then flowers and butterflies by the farmers market, while chatting with a father and his daughter as they painted strawberry baskets at the market.

A few volunteers, including myself, Brian Braden from Surreal You Hair Design, friends of the artists and others, painted with the artists through December.

“The organic nature of local painters continuing to join us was a welcomed surprise,” Louthan said. “Children walking by added a single stroke here and there. Accessible to artists of all skill levels, we made space for a much more fluid process of community involvement. I would estimate nearly 200 residents contributed. An absolute highlight of the project was the connections made, the human relationships, the joys of sharing stories and energy and creative expression together.”

Some Inner Sunset characters appear on the mural, including Joe Forte from Pasquale’s Pizza, who treated volunteers to pizza, a musician who plays his erhu, a local chef and the late Mark Wachter, who owned On the Run shoe store as well as the building on which the mural is painted. Wachter’s niece, Leah Reeves, inherited the building and supported the project.

You can follow the artists’ work at robertlouthan.com (Robert Louthan) and deirdre1.com (Deirdre Weinberg).

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 654 Irving St. on Sunday, Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-noon, will celebrate the mural, which sparks curiosity and conversations and is a popular background for social media posts. Come share your image against the artistry of the Inner Sunset!

A resident of the Inner Sunset for more than 20 years, Ellen Eason enjoys making art and volunteering in the neighborhood.