The Original Mural: An Interview with Carla Kinney-Phillips
Have you ever wondered who created the mural that currently exists on the wall at 727 E. Main Street?
In 1993, legendary art teacher, Carla Kinney-Philips, and students from Nichols Middle School – a school that is just up the street from Open Studio – worked together to create a mural on Main Street.
Carla recently stopped by the studio to share more about the process of painting the mural. Let us know in the comments – do you remember when the mural was first created? What was your favorite thing about it?
Help preserve a piece of Evanston history by donating to the Main Street Mural Project.
Your gift will help pay for exterior wall repairs, permitting, scaffolding, supplies, ongoing maintenance, and more.
Carla, will you start by telling us how this particular mural came about?
Yes. There were particular kids that our principal and I wanted to pinpoint and give them a positive experience. Then we brainstormed, and came up with ideas.
The owner of the building at that time had come to us. It was your typical Evanston building, and they weren't gonna patch anything.
We would store our paints in the corner here somewhere, and we’d walk over… we’d do it after school, or the last period of the day, and then continue on. I’d come out that evening with my husband and take my notes and see what we're gonna do next, so I was prepared for our next steps.
The kids would draw all their sketches, and then we would paint. They all had the knowledge of painting, and we used outdoor paints. And this was the original final version of the mural.
This word cloud highlights responses from the more than 50 people who have filled out the survey so far.
That's wild. It's so bright. You can see everything!
It’s Evanston and the city (Chicago). It was really, really nice. We would brainstorm and see what our theme would be, and just continue from there and take what they can do and work from that.
There were no letters, names or words. That's why we never came back and signed it because of that. You know, I've always wanted to just come by with a marker and say, “Yeah, that's us, that's us.” And the kids would help each other. The whole thing was teamwork. We'd always have a good time.
Talk to us a little bit more about your experience with teaching.
I enjoyed it, you know? You looked forward to it every day. What you're gonna do, or what you're gonna come up with, the element of surprise. Or just say, Good morning at the door.
I enjoyed middle school just because they're so... pliable. You know? The sixth graders are like little birds, chirping, chirping. The 8th grader's are like, eh, you know, but okay, let's see if you could do this.
The kids back then were just so wonderful. As they grow, you'd have the parents and the grandparents of everybody, you know?
One thing people might not know is that you also helped start YEA! Tell us more about that.
Our original spot [was on] Chicago Avenue. It was in the middle of the sidewalk. They could never close Dempster and Chicago. But people would walk in between the meters and everything else.
It would be very crowded. But it was all good. You made it work. It was all volunteers. You know, and then later on, when we got a little bit more money, we'd pay people to help set up, and it was a lot of work, but it was all good. Very cool.
Our District 65 warehouse guys would bring the boards around. We all had very good relationships. I was all about displaying the kids' artwork as often as possible. I would tell my art teachers, if I walk into a school building, I should know there's an art program. You know? There should be art no matter what.
What else comes to mind as you look at the mural?
Carla looks through fragments of the old mural.
The greens, and the reason the greens are like this is because they were all donated paints. A lot of green! Here’s a bird [on the upper right]. I think there are snakes over here [motions upper left].
We wanted to do, like, “Around the World,” but also bring it into Evanston. I kept thinking, keep looking at it, and then we’ll do it. Things that the kids wanted in there, that were part of their journeys. We could bring it home. Bring it home to Evanston. Like the Stone Container [building].
We're very proud of it. I'm proud of the kids, you know? And the kids are always proud, you know? The kids are like, you know, it's mine.
At the end of our interview, Carla looked at the existing mural and took it all in. She said, “This is very exciting.”
We are grateful to Carla for stopping by the studio to share her story with us. From painting a mural with her students, to helping start Young Evanston Artists (YEA!), her contributions to the community won’t soon be forgotten.
If you’d like to show your gratitude and contribute to the new, updated mural, consider making a donation to Open Studio Project. Your gift will help pay for exterior wall repairs, permitting, scaffolding, supplies, ongoing maintenance, and more.