Freezing for arts sake...

So on the Muralistics' latest endeavor for research on our mural, we embarked on a walking tour of downtown Fresno, to become better acquainted with our lovely town, and soon to be cultural arts mecca. We started off our day at the Iron Bird Cafe, from there, equipped with our umbrellas and beanies we walked around the cafe and surrounding buildings learning about the history behind the murals in that area as well as the new architecture. We later went and visited the site of our mural, and discovered a dilemma with painted brick that we will soon be faced with.Then, headed to Arte Americas and met  Nancy Marquez, who gave us a really fascinating tour of the place, along with a very informational history lesson on the district we will be painting our mural in. She told us how downtown was once a lively and fun place were people went for all sorts of entertainment. Fascinated, we continued to tour the surrounding area, talking about its history and the art. After a much needed warm tea break we visited the old crumbling cultural arts mural, and saw how it served as a metaphor for the crumbling cultural arts district. Finally, we had some relief from the elements and took shelter to talk about our day and how it was a very fulfilling trip. Many of us had known little to none about our hometowns downtown and how it once thrived. We were all inspired to bring back the roar that downtown Fresno once hailed. Though the weather for the day was not ideal, the experience was more than we could have anticipated.  Micheal