PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A Perrysburg artist put her brush to work on her backyard fence, not only to freshen it up, but to share it with the entire community.
Abigail Bruce-Hamilton painted a mural of red poppies, yellow jacket bees and green leaves on the side of her fence facing Eckel Junction Road.
She said the painting was inspired by her late mother, as well as the city of Perrysburg she calls home.
Yellow jackets can be an annoyance to some. But Bruce-Hamilton said they represent Perrysburg and the entire "jacket country," and included them in the artwork to unite the township and the city.
The dark red poppies dotting the white fence are dedicated to loved ones who have passed, and the green leaves are to tie everything together aesthetically.
"The green leaves were pretty much just an aesthetic throw on it," she said. "It kind of matches the leaves of our trees, so I thought it would trickle down and flow with the fence."
She said the outpouring of support she's received for her artwork has been unlike anything else. It's made all the hours she spent in the grass painting line after line worth it.
Bruce-Hamilton estimated each panel of the fence took about six hours to paint.
She said a blind person commented on Facebook that Bruce-Hamilton's description helped them experience the mural too.
"That made my heart soar," she said. "To hear that people that can't see it are hearing about it and can visualize it in their minds, it's really amazing. I never thought I could do that."
This mural isn't just for the community to enjoy. Bruce-Hamilton said it's also a personal message to her children to "do their best and take the 'cant's' out of it," she said. "Ignore what people say if it's bad. Just keep doing it. Keep inspiring."