Nonprofit raises funds to paint Green St. statue
By Harley Benda Newsroom@DominionPost.com
The “Greenmont Bears,” named for the neighborhood where they reside, have been there for four years, and now the fiberglass statues are slated to be repainted over the next few weeks.
One of the two bears will be painted by a private artist, and the other bear, on Green Street, will be painted as a collaborative project by Morgantown Arty Party and West Virginia Climate Action.
“Over the years, they [the bears] ended up fading and cracking the paint,” said Jillian Kelly, founder of Morgantown Art Party. “They just need repaired. I didn’t even know there was blue on the bear, but that’s what being outside has done to it.”
The bear on Green Street was originally painted by Michael McDevitt and unveiled at a West Virginia Black Bears game June 20, West Virginia Day, in 2016. The piece was then auctioned and purchased by a Greenmont resident, where it has lived ever since.
The community bear, which is painted bright pink at the request of the bear’s owner, is going to feature creatures from around the state.
“We’re picking different animals and insects from West Virginia that are going extinct because of climate change,” Kelly said. “Everyone can pick a different animal or insect or whatnot, and that’s what we’re putting on the bear, which connects the bear to its name: Ursa Gaia.”
Ursa Gaia, or “Earth Bear” in Latin, is the name of the project and bear. The Ursa Gaia Community Art Page on Facebook explains the name choice as:
“Ursa = Latin word for Bear. Specifically chosen for this project to correspond to the constellations Ursa Major (which the Big Dipper is part of) and Ursa Minor (which the Little Dipper is part of), which helps emote a universal connection between Earth and Sky, and our place as Earthlings in the universe.
“Gaia = Greek word for Earth. In mythology, Gaia was the goddess who embodied Earth. She was the ancestral mother of all life. The Gaia hypothesis has also been used in science to describe the relationships between the living and non-living parts of Earth, such that the system sustains and perpetuates itself.”
Morgantown Art Party is organizing local artists to paint the bear, then members of the community can participate too.
“We have a handful of local artists that we asked to participate first, because it is a community project. We asked them to paint on it first, then people in the community can message us [Morgantown Art Party] and paint also,” Kelly said. “So, it’s going to be a community thing.”
Kelly said the owner of the bear hopes to see a tradition come about from this project.
“Hopefully, the idea is that every 5 years or so, another organization comes in with new artists, and they repaint the bears,” Kelly said.
Money donated to the project will cover the cost of supplies and materials, as well as pay the artists who help paint the bear. If you would like to donate money toward the project, you can donate to the Ursa Gaia Community Art Project Facebook page’s fundraiser or contact the page directly. You can also contact the page if you would like to be involved.
“We were trying to find something that would be fun for the community, brighten up the neighborhood a little bit, but also something we could do during COVID.”
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