06/28/2026
Today is National Mural Day! The perfect day to reveal the completed 2026 community mural.
Here are a few words from the artist, Samuel Turner, about the design when the design was first submitted, “This piece takes a lighthearted approach to the idea of resilience. In the foreground is a beaver to symbolize the hardworking, industrious, midwestern values of Sanford's people. The animal literally creates dams, and I thought it would make for an iconic and fitting mascot for the city and one of its defining characteristics. Holding a hammer, the beaver admires the hard work of his while sitting downstream from Sanford Dam.
The main inspiration for this design was the reconstruction of the Sanford Dam, as I see it representing the resilience, strength, and tenacity of your community. To commemorate its near completion and the upcoming refilling of Sanford Lake, I thought it necessary to include these elements and the Tittabawassee. Water is an essential part of the Michigander identity, and more directly a defining feature of Sanford, so what better than to enshrine it in our mural tradition? Additionally, this allows me to preserve the beautiful blue currently on the building’s wall.
I took other inspiration from the natural beauty around Sanford. When first visiting, I was struck by the lucious and tall pine trees abutting the highway. The abundance of flora and fauna really highlights how beautiful central Michigan is and how it sits on the border between denser southern Michigan and the more rural Northern Michigan.
After the failure of the Sanford dam, the united effort to rebuild something so integral to your city and its identity is incredibly inspiring. This action mirrors the actions of the community mural process, where the people of Sanford may come together to build something beautiful, everlasting, and fundamental to the structure of your city. I find this to be a powerful message because it is imperative upon our communities to reinvest and reaffirm their connection to one another, and as a muralist, my role is to help guide a community to this conclusion using my public art.”
Special thanks to Parker Lane Art & Design Studios for facilitating this community mural and to every community member who stopped by and picked up a brush to bring this brand new mural to life at Harry’s Sewer in Sanford.
We cant wait to paint with you again next summer! 🧡
