GREENFIELD — Through his mural, painted on the front of a water tank at the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (CDC), artist Lahri Bond hopes to show the diversity of the people involved in the food production process.
“It’s a very wide community that goes into raising the food we eat,” Bond said. “Most people just see food in the grocery market; they don’t see all the different steps it takes.”
The mural, which Bond and his assistant Madeleine Beaubien, 19, began painting last week, depicts a farming scene made up of individuals from a range of different backgrounds and generations.
“It’s not exactly the (Pioneer) Valley, but it could be the valley,” he said.
The inspiration for his design came from the Franklin County CDC itself, explained Bond, who lives in Lake Pleasant.
Helen Perham, the development and communications manager for Franklin County CDC, said the organization on Wells Street wanted to paint the solar-heated water tank with an image that expressed its values of sustainability, diversity and equity.
“We put out a request for proposals, RFP, and we got a couple different great proposals, but Lahri’s just blew us out of the water,” Perham said. “It really brings together a lot of what we work on here at the CDC.”
Perham added that the mural is right outside the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center, where the Franklin County CDC works with farmers and food producers from throughout the region.
“We’re really excited about it,” Perham said.
Now that painting is underway, Bond expects to have the mural finished by the end of the first week of October. He noted that Artspace, a community art center Bond works with, contributed paints and other materials.
On the side of the tank is another image of a cat named Amelio Franklin — the mascot of the Franklin County CDC, according to Perham. Before the cat died last month, he spent his days camped out in the reception area of the main building.
“He definitely is a special little guy for us, so we felt like we needed to memorialize him,” she said. “(Bond) came up with the amazing idea for him to face the building so we can admire him, and he can continue to keep an eye on things.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne