(PHOTO BY JENNA FRISBY / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
AMERICAN PRIDE … Olivia Crider has been painting a Betsy Ross Flag mural on her grandparents barn. She wrapped up her mural with adding “In God We Trust” Thursday afternoon.
By: Jenna Frisby
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jenna@thevillagereporter.com
The Crider family’s barn has been through quite the renovation over the summer as their granddaughter Olivia has taken on the project of painting a mural on the side of their barn for all who pass by to see.
From start to finish the project has taken an estimated 70 hours to complete. The mural painted on the barn is a massive 18ft wide and 14ft long canvas of the Betsy Ross Flag of 1777.
The painted flag can be seen from the roadway and is certainly a symbol of patriotism for the community.
While Olivia may have just graduated high school, her artistic skills are far beyond her years. In fact, Olivia has had her artwork displayed in several art shows and won numerous awards for her work.
Since her sophomore year of high school, she has had her art featured in yearly art shows at Huntington College and St. Francis College in Fort Wayne Indiana.
She’s also received two Silver Key Awards for her artwork which was displayed in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards show in the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, a huge achievement.
Before Olivia heads off to college this fall to attend Cedarville University, she decided to paint a mural on her grandparents’ barn.
The barn once had another mural painted on it of The Great Seal of The United States, which featured an American eagle. However, after 32 years of that mural painting being on the side of the barn it was too faded to restore.
So, two years ago Gary Crider, Olivia’s grandpa who owns the barn, decided to repaint the entire barn. Something Gary recalled from the process was thinking of how he had a veteran once tell him how his barn’s mural had helped them.
When that veteran was having a hard day, he would take a drive out to rural Pioneer and just drive past the barn to see the mural painting. It helped him to remember why he stood for our country, and why he chose to be a veteran.
And that veteran wasn’t the only one to do so. He knew of several other veterans among his friend group that would do the exact same thing.
Knowing the change a painting can make, Gary always knew he wanted to have another mural painted back on the barn.
So, when the opportunity arose for his granddaughter, Olivia, to paint the mural, he couldn’t have been happier. The project began back in the beginning of the summer.
The two collaborated on what the mural should be of. Gary loved the idea of having a flag, but some details of our current American flag could be overwhelming and ultimately too hard to view from the road, all those fifty stars in particular.
That’s when Olivia thought of the Betsy Ross flag. After outlining a grid of the picture on some 8×10 paper, the two were then able to enlarge the outline before Olivia officially started on the barn.
Once she got ready to physically start painting the barn, the first thing she and her grandfather did was create a grid outline on the barn to match what they had on paper. After the grid was outlined and prepared, it became Olivia’s turn to shine.
Olivia went grid square by grid square on the barn, painting the flag piece by piece over the summer. While stages of the painting process didn’t always look promising, Olivia would remind herself to trust the process.
All that work and vision of what the mural would look like has paid off as she finally completed it on Thursday evening with adding the words “In God We Trust” under the flag.
From the road, the flag literally looks like it’s waving in the wind. Something that only a seasoned and creative artist could achieve, and that’s exactly what Olivia radiates.
The words stand as a reminder of where we as a country have come from, what we were founded on, and where we need to get back to.
For Gary, the mural is something special too. Knowing what the last mural did for the veterans of the community, he can only imagine how this painted mural could change someone’s day.
The fact that his granddaughter was able to use her talents and be the one to paint made it just makes it that much more special.
The mural painting of the Betsy Ross Flag is quite an incredible sight. The words “In God We Trust” portray the patriotism of the mural. Gary invites the public to drive by and view it anytime. It truly is a beautiful sight to see.
The rural barn sits on the west side of the road on County Road 13 just north of Township Road Q on the outskirts of Pioneer.
Heading north on the county road, you can’t miss the bright red barn, or the mural painted on its side. It’s certainly a refreshing sight and well done mural.
Olivia’s artistic talents have certainly been portrayed through the mural and the finished project is something that is going to stay around for years to come. Hopefully, continuing to make a difference in the days of those who drive by it.
