MIDLAND, Texas — An artistic revamp of the Midland Downtown Library has been in the works for several months but today, the public is finally invited to check out its new additions!
Starting at 3:30 p.m. today, you can expect a presentation for all the new sprat paint art and metal sculptures and a special memorial for seven victims of the August 31, 2019, mass shooting.
"Like dude, we're like killing it right now!" said Metal Artist Rae Ripple.
And that's something you can't deny or take away from these artists.
With just a couple months, they've given what was once your average library, a whole new meaning.
"Color always brightens everyone's mood. Like they could be having a bad day and color naturally just enlightens us," said Ripple.
What once started as a solo project from traveling spray paint artist, Calina Mishay, turned into a dynamic duo with a single phone call.
"Yo, we need a sculptor for this project are you down? I'm down! So lots of meetings and preparations and it finally happened," said Ripple.
You can now expect to see metal art sculptures outside the library, all with their own story.
"I have all the cutouts in the front that are very Bansky, starting with a lady with an umbrella and four kids that are marching into the library. And then as you can see, I have a hot air balloon which, this right here, I'm super proud of. Because it's a lot of engineering to do it to where it's wheelchair accessible. So I always see a ton of photos with like kids with disabilities in wheelchairs that are always off to the side of projects. And it was very, very important to me that we made this accessible for them to get into and make it to where they can be able to see over the sides all that kind of stuff. Then I have another one that's being installed hopefully Monday morning before everything happens, but it's going to be big metal selfie wings. We always have painted ones, so these are going to be big and metal. They'll go right in the middle of the earth over there, so it'll be like they're flying through space it will be pretty cool," said Ripple.
Not to mention, she built every piece sideways in her driveway.
And all materials used are scrap metal from the oil field.
"So this is oil field central so I wanted it to kind of be very playful for kids and adults, but I also wanted the dads and the moms that work in the oil field to be like oh my gosh is that sucker rod? Oh my gosh is that an oil field pipe? Like the whole thing is just oil field scrap material," said Ripple.
Rae and Calina say they'd be lying if they said it wasn't tough to work but hope to inspire others to follow their artistic dreams.
Even if they seem impossible to reach.
"We went through a little phase during this where we were both trying to pick each other up like dang, what did we get ourselves in to?" said Ripple.
"It's just hard you have to pull your own self up and just go to work. Every day there's going to be some obstacle that's going to make it seem impossible but you just get through it one day at a time. And eventually, you get to the point that we are now where you get this finishing energy that's exciting and you're like dude I can see it's almost done," said Mishay.