By Ashley McCarty
People’s Defender
Another masterpiece beautifully marks the architecture of Adams County as veteran mural artist Pamela Kellough, of Ross County, Ohio, has completed the mural in Manchester, Ohio.
The mural was painted on the side of Threads and Inks at 20 West Second Street. The total cost of the piece was $20,000, funded partially by the Adams County Arts Council and through donations obtained by the Manchester Mural Committee.
Kellough began working on the mural on May 13, and after thorough preparation of the wall, she applied three gallons of black base.
“I grid out my main element, which was the word Manchester, and then I put my first coat of paint on that in order to preserve my chalk lines. When I met with the committee, they gave me history and some historical pamphlets. Everything I do is researched; I even researched the buttons from when they had the button factory. I wanted to know the dimensions of those and how many holes were in them. So, all of that is historically accurate. There was a flood gauge on an opposing wall, and we actually brought our transit down and shot grades. My level was about two feet lower than the flood gauge already established, so we shot grades to be sure that everything we were doing was historically correct,” said Kellough.
The three main elements — as requested by the committee — were the paddle wheeler, olympian Wayne Frye and including a medallion that proudly declared Manchester the fourth permanent settlement in Ohio.
To bring the piece together, Kellough incorporated the mussel buttons and flood gauge.
“I very specifically went with old colors. Back in bygone days, blue was a difficult color to come by. Blue is not something that naturally occurs in the ground; green was a color they had a lot. So, that is the reason I chose the colors I did. I wanted to make it appear antique and blend it seamlessly with the old-fashioned class of the area,” said Kellough.
The mural was finished on June 5 after 16 days of work.
“I always love my murals, but I really love the way the colors pop off of that wall,” she said.
“It’s an amazing feeling to see the Manchester historical mural finished. Knowing the support our group received by hundreds of people is astonishing. Not only businesses and residents of Manchester, but outside of Manchester as well. It was humbling, to say the least. The finished mural looks phenomenal! The artist, Pamela Kellough, hit it out of the park. All from just a list of ideas given to her and a concept; she couldn’t have done a better job. To be able to appreciate it to its fullest extent, it’s definitely something one will want to see in person and we welcome everyone to come to take a look,” said Committee Chairperson Roddy Farley.
“The completed mural is amazing. Pamela did a beautiful job capturing some of our history. I’m so proud of our community for working together to make this happen,” said Manchester Mayor Teresa Blythe.
Kellough specializes in humans, animals, landscapes, precise lettering and architecture. She is available for both commercial and residential projects. For more information, visit her website at https://www.pamelakelloughmurals.com/.