Artist Gabriella Parisi pictured in front of the mural she painted on a wall behind the pollinator garden at city hall in Seymour.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Erika Malone | The Tribune
Parisi’s mural depicts lush, pink flowers and a butterfly.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Details of a flower in Gabriella Parisi’s new mural behind the pollinator garden at city hall in Seymour.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
Gabriella Parisi’s signature on the new mural she painted on a wall behind the pollinator garden at city hall in Seymour.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
A plaque on display in the pollinator garden honoring the memory of Jody Deckard, who served as a Leadership Jackson County board member from 2012-2019 and as a Jackson County Chamber of Commerce board member from 2016-2021. Deckard was also a dedicated member of Brownstown Christian Church, leading the Move the Mountain campaign to reduce church debt.
Jared Reedy | The Tribune
A new, charming mural is now on display in Seymour.
Adorning a wall behind the pollinator garden in the city hall south-facing parking lot off Third Street, the mural appropriately depicts lush, pink flowers and a butterfly against a light-blue backdrop.
Paul Bontrager, city hall intern, got in touch with recent Seymour High School graduate Gabriella Parisi and asked her to work on the project. Her flowery mural at city hall joins a growing list of striking murals on display in downtown Seymour.
Michael Cooper of Murals and More, located in Franklin, Tennessee, painted the first downtown mural on the side of the Edward Jones building on Chestnut Street after receiving a commission from Seymour Main Street. That mural — unveiled to the public in October 2019 — features depictions of the Reno Gang, Oktoberfest, Freeman Field and Seymour High School. Images of these subjects are depicted inside letters that spell out “Seymour.” A steaming train juts out through the letters, and the bottom of the mural features the city’s slogan: “The Crossroads of Southern Indiana.”
Earlier this year, Parisi painted an interactive children’s mural inspired by the story of Noah’s Ark for Sweet Cheeks Diaper Pantry at First Presbyterian Church in Seymour. It was her first solo venture as a mural artist.
In 2022, Seymour High School art teacher Laurie Martin and two of her students, including Parisi, painted a mural on the back of Itsa Unique-a Hand Made Shop in Seymour. That mural depicts a human hand painted red with the word “hand” on it, along with the word “made” spelled out in sign language.
In regard to her latest project, Parisi said she changed her mind about her planned color scheme once she got an up-close look at the garden.
“I initially was looking at the tiger lilies that come up out of the side of the road — those beautiful yellows — but then I ended up coming here and looking at the space, and there were all these pinks and purples, so I decided on a pink theme that reminds me of fairy paintings, kind of like a child’s bedroom,” Parisi said. “I think it adds such fun whimsy to the place.”
Parisi began to paint the mural on July 8 and finished the project on July 19. She said she has loved to make art ever since she was a child.
“Every Saturday morning, I would completely take over the kitchen table, cover it in scrap paper and just go crazy,” Parisi said.
Parisi said she is also musically-inclined, and it was a challenge during high school to balance her passions for both art and music.
“In high school, I had this path where I kind of had to choose between art and music,” Parisi said. “I was able to straddle that line for a good, long minute, but art is definitely something I will continue doing, as well as music … I had great teachers [in high school] like Mrs. Martin and Mr. Robinson, and they were really helpful.”
Parisi plans to carry her mural-painting experiences with her as she enters Kent State University in Kent, Ohio this fall, where she will be pursuing a degree in art and design.