The "The Wall Mural Of Mussertown...The Talk Of The City Of Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the Saturday, May 29 newspaper and when I turned the page...the colors jumped off the page in front of me.  Headline read "FROM MANY LIGHTS, ONE".  Story was about a local artist who loves doing street murals.  The Lancaster, Pennsylvania neighborhood she is attached to at present is known as Mussertown which is in the Southeast part of the city.  I had done enough reading and thought it was time to make a visit to see exactly what she was doing that needed just about an entire page in the newspaper to tell about it.  Headed south from my home in Manheim Township and in less than ten minutes I had parked at the corner of Shippen and Locust Streets.  

Shauna Yorty putting finishing touches to her mural.

Yep, there was someone in a bucket lift painting black strokes with a paintbrush on the side of a brick corner-home.  I yelled up to the painter and was greeted by a woman's voice whose name turned out to be Shauna Yorty.  Watched for a bit and then began a conversation with both Shauna and her painter-buddy, Sean Cox, who painted below her.  

Both Shauna and Sean can be seen in this photograph.

I tried not to bother them too much since I know how tough it is to both talk and paint without making a mistake with you brush or in your conversation.   Told her who I was and what my mission was for the afternoon.  I spent some time examining all the other murals she had painted with other cohorts and just sat on the curb for some time watching the two of them put paint on the wall.  The newspaper article told me that Shauna and a group of volunteers began painting a mural on the outside wall of the home at 429 S. Shippen Street and expected to have it complete by the weekend.

This photograph shows both walls that are part of the mural.

The mural was titled "One Candle" and was designed by Shauna.  It depicted her vision of a sea of people, fists raised, holding candles, with one large candle in the center and smaller neighborhood candles surrounding it.  She had told the newspaper that there had been so many influences for her design; "moments when humans have stood together to shine light on horrors such as ecosystem collapse, species extension, the loss of black lives at the hands of the police, deforestation, climate change, the viral pandemic and on and on.  No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, the world is a rough place these days.  When I think about what gives me hope, it always comes down to humans standing together.  We each can only do so much, but together we light up the world."  

A closer look at the printed statement in both English and  Spanish.

 "All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle," was spoken by St. Francis of Assisi."  The quote appears on a smaller wall on the left side of the large mural in orange, white and black over a purple backdrop and is in both English and Spanish to reflect the citizens in the Mussertown section of the city of Lancaster.  I could see her artistic ability as soon as I stepped out of my car on the other side of Locust Street.  High above the ground in a bucket lift stood Shauna while Sean painted from a ladder beneath her.  The two were fun to watch as they deliberately painted a black outline around where the colors touched one another.  

Closeby is another mural on the side of a home.

She estimated that the total cost of all the materials and time might be about $15,000.  She received funds from a variety of people and businesses as well as a GoFundMe campaign.  She also had the help of quite a few other artists who all spent time working on the project.  The newspaper reported that Slaymaker Rentals provided a boom lift, Pete Barber from Two Dudes Painting Co. provided primer for the wall, Mike Zimmerman from City Brick Restoration repointed the wall, Sherwin-Williams donated the paint and Lowe's and Howells Glass Co. donated painting supplies.  

I took one final photograph before I departed.

The lift that she was standing on when I made my visit was paid for by Charlie Snyder from Snyder's Funeral Home which is a few city blocks from the location. Shauna credited her neighbors with helping her come up with the idea that appears on the walls which she will finish soon.  The home that contains the "canvas" for her current artistic endeavor is owned by Todd Clerico.  He said that he saw another mural Shauna had done and wanted one on his wall.  Before long the entire neighborhood will resemble an art museum and Mussertown will be the envy of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Bravo...Shauna and all whom have helped!  Your work is amazing!!  And...I hope I didn't bother you too much.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Below are a few more colorful photographs showing both Shauna and Sean working on the wall mural.