To refresh you on me Bremerton art saga, a saga stranger than most, the new year saw art activities and a flood of artists flocking to Bremerton for live-in studio space. It saw housing selling for $50,000 by owner / landlords that wanted out. It brought the 33 million dollars multi- government building proposal that made us drool like fat dogs.

In March I was confronted with the house behind the 6th and Park 7-11 Store and was convinced it was a “calling” to create a huge wall mural. The house would be an investment, and was purchased with the intent of trading rent for mural painting, beautifying the neighborhood and reducing crime — the whole naive art/business concept.

Well, as I previously shared, the first week a vagrant was beaten and killed on the sidewalk, no artist wanted the house, the little crime pocket proved to validate its reputation, and the house demanded immediate major repair.

A month later things got better as a mural committee and artists were established. The one wall idea fumed into five, and the theme became an old growth forest.

The interesting thing is what has happened since. The artist migration slowed to a snail’s pace. Many of the successful sculptors couldn’t find accommodations for their heavy duty needs. Most out-of-area artists had the misconception that they’d find large lofts, frieght elevators — the old industrial situation, which was not the makeup of Bremerton or surrounding areas.

The $50,000 house quickly became non-existent. Those reluctant landlords held on with new hope, as home sales soared to record heights. Now, ten months later I ‘m literally watching out-of-town people crowd the neighborhoods in search of houses, even placing “want” notes where no for sale sign exists.

Rising house prices means rising rent — means higher taxes — means more of a hardship on low-income persons.

Coming full circle to a point, Bremerton is an art community with hundreds of working artists, art related businesses and nonprofit performing arts and museums. This generates a minimum or part-time wage that puts most artists in hardship without the benefit of subsidy or welfare. Yet the product, whether visual, sound, movement, tangible or theory, gives us hope, joy, thought’ education and enrichment.

Will the art community survive the evident resurgence of Bremerton?

The mural saga opened my eyes. I knew it would be a good idea and would make a difference. And I knew others would also think so and provide funding accordingly, because after all — didn’t I work hard to gain a respectful community reputation? My balloon deflated faster than a run over pumpkin. As I dove head first into the project I soon realized that there were hundreds of other “good ideas” and all needing funding.

We found ourselves with out reached hands begging like a street character in a Charles Dickens novel.

The first phase, a two story by sixty-five foot concrete wall was transformed into lush forest imagery as if you could walk into it. Dennis McDaniel and his assistants gave new positive direction to one of the most notorious crime areas in Kitsap County, which also happened to be one of the gateways into Bremerton.

Weather permitted us to proceed to phase II, an extension of the forest on another connecting 100 foot wall, but funding did not. It takes money to ask for money, and our dollars were going for paint

This was at the same time that the county presented its one percent for the arts proposal with the “not with our money —&Mac226; we can do it ourselves” opposition.

That’s when I examined the percentage of art verses development in Silverdale, and realized “if ya don’t have to — ya ain’t gone.”

We invited Mayor Horton to our mural meetings. She saw the benefit and approached the city to help our struggle. It was because of city assistance along with private donations that we were able to advance to phase II and plan for the third mural.

Will the art community survive the resurgence of Bremerton? It depends on us.

P.S. If you want to see the “forest” just drive down the 6th and Park 7-11 alley. “Why did you put it there?” bewildered people ask. Well, when you’re there you won’t see prostitutes, probably not a drug deal or drunken vagrants living in abandoned cars — a couple months ago you would have.