McHenry invited to vote on public mural designs by local high school students

The polls are open now, giving McHenry residents until Thursday, May 15, to pick their candidate.

Students from McHenry High School are vying to have their mural design – a “postcard” of the town – printed on vinyl and installed on a business wall for the next two to five years. The ballot is online on the McHenry High School District 156 Facebook page. A link on the Facebook page will bring voters to a Google form. Only those votes, not comments on the page, will be counted in vote totals.

The mural project is one of two set for McHenry this summer and is a collaboration between the city of McHenry, the school’s graphic design department and building owner Gurbax Saini. Set for 3411 W. Elm St., the building houses Otto’s Glass and Smoke Shop. The winning design will be printed on a vinyl material called Smooth-N-Groove, donated by McHenry-based Jessup Manufacturing, according to city documents.

The mural – set for a corner of the building’s west-facing wall – will be installed by Daniel Florek of Vindictive Vinyl, based in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.

Names of the four murals’ designers will not be revealed until after voting closes to ensure fairness.

“When we have the design picked, their names will be on the mural as well,” graphic design instructor Matt Conner said.

The mural project will cost the city $4,000. Conner expects the image to last several years, but noted the vinyl can be changed several times.

“The benefit of vinyl versus painting a mural is the vinyl is not going to last as long, so there is a price break. It is more reasonable to do this, and it allows them to change the mural every few years,” Conner said. “If the community wants, they can adapt and change it over time.”

A second planned mural at 3425 Pearl St., at McHenry Brewing Co., also is coming along, with the design approved by the McHenry City Council in April. The muralist, Jenny Mathews of Rockford, is expected to begin her work June 7, with a community participation day for residents set for June 14.