Kyrstin Connell poses with some of her artwork on the Astoria Riverwalk.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
“We went down to City Hall and we asked what are some good places to paint a mural. They said, mostly in Astoria, it’s a lot of historical buildings, so they tend to shy away from projects like this,” Connell said.
“But then they suggested the bowling alley.”
Connell immediately went to talk with Casey Gray, the manager of Lower Columbia Bowl, about the idea.
Once she got approval from Gray and filled out paperwork to get the process started with the city, Connell made a mock-up of what she intended to do with the space.
“My dad is my mentor. He works in graphic design, and I needed a mentor for the project. We went down and he took a picture of the wall and got a 3D scan of the layout of the wall,” she said. “I used that and then made a mock-up to see what it would look like in real life.”
Connell’s design depicts the road into Astoria via the New Youngs Bay Bridge with the Astoria Bridge and the Astoria Column in the background.
Connell and Gray have to attend a public hearing Tuesday before the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission to get final approval, since the bowling alley is in the National Register of Historic Places district downtown.
“I didn’t realize that the application process would be this long,” Connell said. “We’re just kind of waiting for the meeting so I can start.”
Connell has already bought the paint and supplies she is going to use. She is hoping once she is approved, she can go down after school to paint the mural.
“I’m thinking I could just buckle down and go every day after school,” she said. “I could probably get it done in like a week or week and a half if I go every day. And I am hoping it doesn’t rain too much more.”
