Hometown artist graces downtown Etna Green with a sense of community

This post was provided by News Now Warsaw

By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

ETNA GREEN — If a public mural is supposed to reflect a sense of community, Justin Vining has been feeling it.

Vining, who grew up in the quiet town of Etna Green before moving to Indianapolis some 20 years ago, was unsure how he would be received after being commissioned to paint a mural in his favorite small town.

Vining became momentarily emotional in his short address on Saturday to the crowd before the ribbon cutting after completing the project last week.

“I wondered if I would be received as an outsider,” Vining said, momentarily choking up.”

“Being gone for so long, you don’t know,” he added.

But those concerns were washed away last week as he began work on the south side wall of the Etna Green Post Office, when he was repeatedly offered food and drink and words of support from onlookers.

Reaction to his artwork on Saturday was like icing on a cake.

“This week, I felt the love. The love of this town. I barely had to bring any food …” he said. “I had somebody with me for nearly every paintbrush stroke of the mural.

More than 50 people — roughly one tenth of the town’s population — celebrated the new mural Saturday morning with a ribbon cutting.

The 44-year-old Vining first lived on Huffman Lake, but his family moved to a family-owned farm north of Etna Green when he was ten.

“Looking back, it’s just so quint and charming and the pace is a little bit slower, which is great,” he said before Saturday’s ceremony.

After college, he worked as a teacher before going to law school in Valparaiso, where he sold hundreds of paintings. Months after joining a law firm, though, he quit and decided to focus on painting. 

He eventually teamed with his brother, Nathan (still an attorney), and the two refurbished a building on Indy’s east side that now houses Nathan’s law office and Justin’s art gallery.

The mural combines two scenes: a passenger and cargo train and a view of Walnut Street, which were based on photos supplied to him by town leaders.

He said he wanted the mural to reflect the town’s history.

“The train, before my time, was incredibly important to the history of Etna Green. It’s what helped build the town,” Vining said. “I’ve heard stories this week of architectural parts from older buildings being brought here on train.”

Vining said he’s thankful for all the support he received and is satisfied with the final results.

“In some ways, it’s so much bigger than me,” Vining said. “It’s cool.”

The mural is one of a handful initiated under Kosciusko County’s Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program (HELP) that began more than three years ago and assists communities with projects they choose to focus on.

HELP operates under the direction of Amy Roe, who Vinning described as “tough and relentless” in her desire “to get things done.”

Suzie Light, a longtime supporter of public art, lobbied to have Vining take on the work.

“When you’re a hometown guy, you’re always a hometown guy,” Light said. “Justin, thank you for saying ‘yeah,’ and Amy, thanks for being persistent.”

In addition to the mural, Roe and those behind HELP  celebrated in recent weeks the completion of a sidewalk project in Pierceton and, installation of hundreds of water meters in Milford. More projects are in the works, including one in Mentone.

Kosciusko  County Commissioner Cary Groninger, who led the charge in bringing HELP to the county, said the plan is an effort to support towns in improvements they want.

Etna Green now has two murals.

“Kosciusko County is blessed to have 14 small communities in the county and I think each community has its own flavor,” Groninger said. “I just really think it’s cool that Etna Green has continued on with their murals. This is just an opportunity to have a distinct difference in each community.”

Town Council President Heath Roberts said it’s nice to have a second mural to help draw people to the town.

He said the town is also working on constructing a trail that leads to Heritage Park. That project, he said, is through the K21 Health Foundation.

Two other phases aimed at improving the park are also in the works.

 

 

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