Graffiti artist Dr. Phil puts the finishing touches on an art piece at the playshed at Onalaska Middle School as part of Northwest Spray Day on Saturday, May 17, 2014.
Graffiti artists team up to paint the outside of the Onalaska Middle School playshed Saturday as part of Northwest Spray Day.
Graffiti artist Isrek, left, talks with a friend as they admire Isrek's work at the former transfer station in Onalaska in May 2014.
Justin Boggs wears a vapor respirator as he works on an art installation at the former Onalaska Transfer Station Saturday.
Justin Boggs sprays a portion of his art installation at the former transfer station in Onalaska Saturday as part of Northwest Spray Day.
ONALASKA — Take a drive around Onalaska and you’ll likely see a bit more color added to a few structures.
Graffiti has carried with it a negative connotation for years among property owners who don’t welcome it, but Onalaska rolled out the red carpet for 18 of the Pacific Northwest’s top graffiti artists and gave them three venues on which to channel their creativity.
Justin Boggs, a 24-year-old Onalaska native who now attends the University of Oregon to study art, invited 17 other street artists to his hometown for the 2014 Northwest Spray Day, made possible by Boggs and a variety of entities who provided space for the artists’ work.
“The high school had to get rid of the arts program due to budget cuts, so this just shows that art is alive here,” Boggs said.
Eighteen artists fanned out across three areas: the former transfer station site, the old Carlisle Lumber Mill smokestack and the Onalaska Middle School play shed. All three were transformed from one-color brick to vibrant murals displaying cartoon characters, smiling animals and stylized text with positive messages for the youth of the area.
And it was all done in seven hours, from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Not any two artists’ work is the same,” Boggs said, pointing to four art installations on the side of the concrete at the former transfer station. “People who keep up with our scene know this is pretty special.”
It was quite the scene indeed: Multiple artists using a variety of spray paint cans and colors painted sections of a concrete wall, using a live DJ spinning hip-hop beats for a soundtrack. Volunteers took in more than $2,000 in donations for the graffiti art scene as people milled about and admired the work.
Harry O. Bhagwandin, candidate for Lewis County Commission and an Onalaska resident, stopped by and said he was impressed by the quality of the work. Just as the artists had a deeper message in each of their pieces, there was a big reason as to why area leaders opened up their community to what may have been one of the largest legal graffiti gatherings in the Northwest.
“Here in Onalaska, we’ve got poverty. Poverty leads to boredom, boredom leads to disenfranchisement and it goes down from there,” Bhagwandin said. “But if the kids see that the artists have a space to do this, it gives the younger generation ownership.”
That sense of ownership wasn’t just shared among local residents, but the artists themselves — many of whom traveled from Portland and Seattle to take part in the event. Travis Suda, 23, of Portland, Oregon, joined two other artists in painting the bottom of the former Carlisle Lumber Mill smokestack.
Suda had just finished painting his signature message, “Don’t Just Exist,” as he stepped back to admire the work of the collective. He told The Chronicle he appreciated the people of Onalaska for providing him and the others a venue in which to showcase their craft.
“It’s so great to bring an art form like this to a local spot. It’s weird how open-minded Portland is, but this is shunned there,” Suda said. “It’s great to be able to be given a place and show this can be artful.”
Suda described spray art as a more impromptu form of artistry, creating elements as they come to his mind. He said he wants to get a message out of social consciousness through his work and encourage people to be the best they can be.
“A lot of my work is about people educating themselves,” Suda said. “It all comes from my subconscious. Sometimes I just write stuff on paper and it goes from there.”
Boggs had been in touch with the Onalaska school board, who approved his request to paint the play shed at the middle school. School superintendent Jeff Davis said Monday that he visited the site while the painting was taking place, and was also impressed with the quality of the artwork.
Davis also said the district will receive input from the community as to whether or not it should stay long-term.
“I was amazed at their ability to do this. … We took the kids out and a lot of them liked it because of the bright colors,” Davis said. “For years, we’ve just seen boxcars on trains with all these elaborate drawings, but a lot of people showed up to see this.”
As for Boggs, he was especially grateful to return to his community and be part of a group that leaves a positive mark, defying the more commonly-known stereotypes of graffiti artists.
“You just can’t do this quality work without spending some good time on it,” Boggs said. “We’re just here to have fun and get to have a good time together.”
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
