Orlando Sentinel

A new Pulse mural is coming to a Mills 50 business.

- By Kyle Arnold

A new Pulse tribute mural will grace the side of a Mills 50 business by the end of summer.

Lamp Shade Fair owner Ralph Walters has agreed to a new mural on the south side of his Mills Avenue business, featuring a girl blowing a rainbow of heart kisses.

The mural is intended to show the outpouring of love and support for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting two years ago in Orlando, using the symbolic rainbow and hearts that have come to represent the tragedy at the gay entertainm­ent venue.

Pedestrian­s will be encouraged to stop and take a picture while they stand in the place of the shadow of a girl blowing the heart kisses.

The mural will actually be a companion piece to a Pulse tribute mural in the works by artist Jennifer Kuhns of Olympia, Wash. Kuhns made a mural on the wall of a school near her hometown and then plans to come to Orlando to complete the project.

The mosaic hearts are being made by artists all over the world and then will be added to the side of the building to make the rainbow.

Lamp Shade Fair is a 65-year-old business at 1336 N. Mills Ave. that specialize­s in the repair and sale of lampshades.

Local artist and Luna Mosaic gallery owner Cherie Bosela is spearheadi­ng the mural project. The team has submitted a request to Orlando’s planning department to approve the mural.

“We’ve been really touched by what happened two years ago at Pulse and wanted to show this community cares,” Bosela said. “The Mills 50 area seems to really embrace the arts, too, so this was a great place for it.”

The Pulse memorial mural will be painted on the south side of the Lamp Shade Fair building, which already features wall depicting a bicycle rider.

Bosela and Kuhns have already raised about $3,100 of the $5,000 they need to fly Kuhns to Orlando and rent equipment to complete the mural, according to a website and GoFundMe page they have set up for the project.

They are planning to dedicate the mural on Sept. 21.

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