Main story: Painting downtown mural gives women ‘art therapy’

Other businesses show interest in additional pieces of art in Gourmet Alley

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By Marty Cheek

Call it creativity in camaraderie.

The idea started in mid-February when Whitney Pintello found a webpage photo of an abstract mural made by two aboriginal women in Australia. The local artist posted the link on Facebook as an inspirational work of art with the message: “Wouldn’t this be a neat project?” Several of her women friends replied, “That sounds like fun.”

Pintello’s friend Toni Bowles then jumped in. The founder of The Neon Exchange event center in downtown Gilroy replied with a unique offer: the 945-square-foot wall on the Gourmet Alley back entrance of her building could serve as a large canvas for a community art project. Soon, Pintello and Bowles were planning the Women’s Collaborative Mural project.

Pintello had a lot of leftover paint available from theater projects, so she offered to make it available. Bowles had the wall painted salmon pink. Through Facebook, women heard about the arty idea. On Friday April 16, Gilroy residents Debbi Sanchez and Susan Patereau joined them to initiate the painting. The next day, a dozen women showed up and the project accelerated in artistry. By Sunday, the wall began to show a flowing abstract design emerging as the creative spirit kicked into high gear.

By coincidence, The Neon Exchange was serving that weekend as the venue for the Tula Pink National Quilt Show. People who were painting were inspired by the quilts, and people who came to view the quilts enjoyed going out and observing Whitney and the other women in the process of creating.

“As soon as we started painting, Toni started encouraging quilt show guests to go out to see the mural,” Pintello said. “So we got a lot of feminine attention and we got a lot of feminine input on how they felt just by watching. And so people who didn’t paint gave us their input on how they felt on having this in their community. It was just really nice to hear their thoughts on it and their appreciation for the project.”

The merging of the artistry of the quilt and the organically-evolving mural provided a “magnificent” synergy, Bowles said. “The quilts have geometric designs, they have abstract designs, they have color combinations that are very unique and so they’re stimulating to the idea. So taking all of that in, if you’re a creative person it’s very inspiring to see things — in this case fabric — put together in different ways that make you think of what you can paint up on a wall.”

The women worked on the project for three weekends. (They might do a fourth weekend in early May if needed, Pintello said.)

As the project progressed, two owners of other downtown buildings expressed interest in collaborative murals being painted on their own Gourmet Alley back walls. They see it as a way to bring a splash of color and the spirit of creativity into the drabness of the thoroughfare. It also will help discourage graffiti on the wall as public art murals tend to be left alone by taggers.

Because the Women’s Collaborative Mural was painted on a privately owned building, Pintello and Bowles did not have to apply for permits as they would have if it had been a city-owned wall. Because the paint was donated, the project was also inexpensive to put together, another way to encourage downtown property owners to participate in their own art projects, Pintello said.

“We did this on a shoestring. I don’t think between the two of us we spent 200 bucks,” she said. “We did not ask anybody for money, it was very grassroots. But on a shoestring I think we can show somebody how easy it is to get rolling with some guidelines and diplomacy. They could have different themes. It could be family or heritage themed.”

At a recent meeting a proposal was made to the Gilroy City Council to close Gourmet Alley to traffic and turn the thoroughfare into a long paseo for outdoor dining. A series of colorful murals gracing the back walls of restaurants and other businesses would add to the experience of enjoying a meal in the area, Pintello said.

Many of the women were mothers and daughters who saw the process of painting the wall as a way to spend some quality time together outdoors  making downtown Gilroy a little more attractive. Ages ranged from 8 to 80.

The process of painting  the abstract mural helped many of the women deal with the stress of life during a pandemic. Some of them were mothers who had to balance work, trying to be a teacher to their kids, stressed with caring for family members who might have COVID-19 symptoms.

“Then layered on top of the fact that they don’t have their social circles to lean on and vent with was devastating,” Bowles said. “And I experienced that too. But wouldn’t it be amazing to have open-air art therapy in a place that was safe to distance yourself but still we were painting together?”

Bowles started artistically painting rocks during the pandemic to help her cope with the stress. The mural took that coping mechanism to a much higher level. What the women painting received in the process was a form of healing through creativity they shared with other women, she said.

“You can just unwind and forget about the 50 million roles that you’re playing in your household,” she said. “You’re getting fresh air, you’re getting sun exposure, and you are healing through art therapy. And you’re getting a sense of camaraderie and a sense of pride that they’re making their city beautiful during a devastating city.”

Pintello also observed that the women participating in the mural creation experienced the process of restoring their spirits through art. Some of them were women who took painting classes online during the pandemic and thus they discovered the joy of expressing themselves through the medium of paint. For others without art lessons, it was also a rewarding experience.

“The women who showed up have all said, ‘Thank you for this opportunity,’” Pintello said. “Some of them are doing grunt work. They’re filling in big areas. And they say, ‘Thank you for this peaceful time, a time to be creative.’ We wanted to say thank you (to them) for helping us, but they’re thanking us for the opportunity to just let their minds go.”