Drivers headed west on Highway 34 through Seward have a brightly colored mural to observe from the stoplight at the highway and Fifth Street.
A giant monarch butterfly now graces the east side of the Rivoli Theatre, a colorful memorial to longtime theater owner Julie Wisehart, who passed away in January.
“It’s so bright and lively,” Cheryl Vajgrt said.
She is one of Chuck and Julie Wisehart’s daughters and helps manage the theater.
The family didn’t know what to do with the memorial money received after Julie’s death, Vajgrt said. Vajgrt’s children saw a butterfly statue in Emporia, Kansas, that people could take pictures with and suggested something like that.
Chuck liked the idea of the butterfly, though not necessarily a statue.
“Dad picked it. He wanted a butterfly because Mom was a social butterfly,” Vajgrt said.
Local artist Seth Boggs said he and his son Ethan, who works at the Rivoli, had talked about that wall and he offered to design something if the Wisehart family was interested.
Boggs provided different sketch ideas for a mural.
“We went through quite a few,” Vajgrt said. “It was all Dad, what he wanted.”
Boggs said Chuck definitely wanted the milkweed flower, so the monarch butterfly was a natural fit.
“He liked the idea of the sparsity of the monarch around here,” Boggs said.
Once the design was selected, Boggs, known as “Bogzilla” in the mural world, measured the space and used a four-foot level to keep the design plumb. He said he mapped out the edges and did a little gridwork to help with the proportions.
On July 11, he started with spray paint, using different tips on the paint cans to create the mural. The paint he used is designed for graffiti artists and mural work, he said.
“It should hold up for a long time,” he said.
The paint is different from commercial paint, he said.
“It’s buttery-smooth going on and you can control it,” he said.
He’s worked with this brand for about 10 years, so is familiar with it and how it goes on.
He spent most of the day July 11 painting the flowers and butterfly. He came back July 12 to add the lettering.
Vajgrt said she hopes people enjoy the beautiful colors of the mural as they drive or walk past it.
“I hope it brings joy to people,” Boggs said. “It reflects Julie’s personality, what a gem she was to the community.”
