ART, TECHNOLOGY COME TOGETHER
Illustrator to create community’s first augmented reality mural
Years ago, Wendy Popko imagined creating illustrations that would come to life but could never find the technology to do it.
Now that she’s discovered the magic of augmented reality (AR) she can’t wait for the public to see the mural she’s been commissioned to create on the wall of Ventimiglia Italian Foods for the Sterling Heights Public Art Program.
“I’m so excited,” said Popko, during an interview at Ventimiglia’s.
The small family business featuring fresh baked bread and house made soups and submarine sandwiches features an outdoor patio and at one time a large mural that stood as a neighborhood landmark. However, over the years the mural became a casualty of the weather and was eventually painted over with lime green paint. It will soon feature a white coating of primer that will serve as the canvas for Popko’s mural.
“This will be the first augmented reality murals in suburban Detroit,” she said.
Once completed, visitors will be able to load an app on their Smartphone that will bring the mural to life.
Popko expects to begin the work in May, although the project has actually been in the works since last fall. That’s when members of the Sterling Heights Public Arts Program approached her about doing
a mural inspired by the rebranding goals of the city; being active, inclusive, safe, vibrant, progressive and distinctive. While she was onboard for the project, she was already working to complete a mural commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Arts in partnership with the Eastpointe Arts and Cultural Diversity Commission. So, the city gave her an extension and once the mural that adds a splash of whimsy to the children’s garden along Gratiot Avenue in Eastpointe was done she started working on the mural for Ventimiglia’s.
Originally, she set out to create something similar to what was there — a kind of old world look — with muted colors and simple lines. But the city wanted something vibrant that popped like the Rainbow Maker mural she created for the children’s garden.
As luck would have it, she had attended an art committee meeting at the Velocity Center in Sterling Heights where she was introduced to augmented reality for the first time.
“I’m not a techy person but I fell in love with it,” Popko said, of the Electrifly
program demonstrated by Steambox’s Stephen Couchman that brings street art to life. “It just blew my mind. I was like, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for. This is magic.’”
So, she returned to the drawing board and after asking a group of close friends and critics for whom she trusts to pick out four of the best designs, she took them to the team at Electrifly to see if any of them were AR combatable.
They picked, “Trail Blazer,” a bright yellow and blue design illustrating activity in Sterling Heights.
“We’re a very outdoorsy community,” said Popko, who has been a resident of the city for more than 25 years and has done multiple murals around the county including one on the wall of a gas station just down the road from Ventimiglia’s. “Kayaking is huge and we have the Clinton River. We have the skate park and ice rink that converts to a farmers market in the summer. We have a new outdoor stage for bands, I wanted to highlight all of the different activities that can be done in our community whether on the water or land.”
It’s exactly what the Sterling Heights Public Art Program imagined.
“I love it,” said Melanie Davis, community relations director for the city and a
member of its public art program committee. “When we resurrected the Public Art Program we really wanted it to be consistent with our rebranding objectives and she really did a great job in capturing all of the things that keep Sterling residents and visitors active.”
The mural also features soccer players wearing World Cup jerseys as a nod to Ventimiglia’s Italian roots. For its part, Ventimiglia’s is not only providing the space for the mural at a cost of $1 a year for five years, but has plans to expand its outdoor patio for those who make the mural a destination. “We’re really looking forward to making the mural a focal point,” said Davis.
“At first they’re not going to believe what they’re seeing,” said Popko, who likens the experience to someone who goes snorkeling in the ocean for the first time. “You can’t help but smile at what you’re looking at.”
Now that she has discovered the technology who knows what the future holds for the Sterling Heights illustrator. Maybe a new children’s book, which would delight children and parents alike, who are already fans of Popko’s work, which appears in such favorite books as, “Has Anyone Seen Christmas,” and “Twas the Night Before Summer.”