The "One Of Lancaster's New Artists!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving north on Queen Street in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Had just passed the old Lancaster Armory and moved into the left lane of the one-way street.  As a child I lived in the last house on the last block of North Queen Street which ended just before the Lancaster Railroad Station.  The final block of the street by the railroad station, which was where I lived, was in Manheim Township while the rest of North Queen was within the city limits.  The block just before my home housed the George Ross Elementary School, but I had to walk about mile to elementary school since I lived outside the city.  As I approached the end of North Queen I was still in the left lane.  To my left was George Ross Elementary School.  Then I noticed it!  On the south edge of the school grounds was this really neat painting that I somehow must have missed in the past few months.  

Pulled to the side of the road and snapped a photo with my phone.  The painting was titled "Nurture Your Mind" and was painted by Keisha Finnie.  What a beautiful painting!  Then, a few days later I opened the newspaper and there was this beautiful painting in the Living & Money section of the local paper that featured a large mural of a city skyline with a wavy piano beneath it that was painted by...Keisha Finnie.  It was painted as a tribute to Lancaster's "Music for Everyone."  Wow, I just had to see it for myself so I hopped in the car and headed back downtown to the location on the side of one of Lancaster's parking garages.  As I read more of the newspaper article I got to know a bit more about Keisha and her artistic talent.  She said her high school art teacher was a big influence in her life and encouraged her to continue her painting.  She began to sell her artwork and when the COVID-19 quarantine began in March, Lancaster Public Art put out a call to artists tp put out temporary murals to help spread vital information to the pubic to help fight the virus.  She was one of the ten chosen to contribute her artwork with an 8X8 foot mural for the city of Lancaster.  Then I realized that the painting I had just seen for the first time as I was driving home was the one featured for the COVID quarantine.  

Black Lives Matter work by Keisha Finnie.

Fannie recently partici- pated in the "Black Lives Matter" protest by working on a mural at Art Park which is a small green area between the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and the Lancaster Police Bureau.  She sketched George Floyd's face onto a vinyl banner duct-taped to a concrete divider between the ark and police station.  While she was working on the sketch she was approached by the city of Lancaster as well as the Art College asking her to help create some sort of collaborative piece for the park.  Before too long she had a few ideas and decided to use a giant wooden board for her idea.  She featured the faces and names of those many black and brown people who died in police custody.  The piece is titled "Say Their Names."  Due to this work she was asked to do the city skyline and wavy piano which I had taken a photo to share with you.  Many people realize that Keisha will be one of the next generation of artists who will be a force in the art scene in Lancaster.  I'm anxious to see what comes next for her.  What a great talent she is!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Music for Everyone Mural