ELY – Public spaces around the Ely area serve as the background for a fascinating walk through the area’s history and culture as seen through the eyes of some of very talented artists.

A mural tour in Ely to be part of a larger national public mural project is the vision of multi-medium artist and author Nancy Scheibe. She collected the history and background of the work of as many as 10 artists, dating back to 1939, who used indoor and outdoor spaces around the city to share their vision of the area’s natural charm, culture and history.

More than 20 giant works of art are included in a brochure, “Ely Mural Walk,” she produced to provide a resource for visitors and residents to explore artistic vision depicted on a large scale.

Ely’s newest and largest mural was just completed this fall by Scheibe and serves as a welcoming scene to those arriving on the city’s west end.

“Seasons of Splendor,” was the inspiration of Cindy Beans, co-owner of Jasper Co. who worked with Scheibe to design and produce a five-panel mural to portray the spectacular diversity of the life and wilderness experiences during Ely’s four seasons. The mural is located on the Jasper BaskeTree building on West Sheridan Street.

Beans and Schiebe began their collaboration a couple of years ago. “I wanted to put a mural on the side of our building because or building is somewhat hidden and goes unnoticed,” Beans said. “A lot of people who have lived here the whole life don’t even realize we are there (next to Blomberg’s Cenex gas station), and I hoped a mural would serve as our identifier and I wanted it to encompass all of Ely.”

At the same time, the idea of a mural walk project was born, and Scheibe got to work sketching her vision.

“The name says it all,” Beans said. “People sometimes think of Ely as just a summer destination and they forget, or have never seen, how beautiful Ely really is in all the seasons. We wanted to provide a welcoming point as people drove into Ely.”

Scheibe spent some 275 hours researching, sketching and refining her vision. The mural was made on five panels to maintain the charm and integrity of the brickwork of the building, which dates back to 1900, when it was built as private residence. Through the years, the landmark served as a boarding house, hotel, restaurant, realty company, pizza place, design company and now a bakery.

Scheibe expanded her vision by adding animals and birds that inhabit the Ely area throughout the scene. “Artistic license was taken with the tree,” she said. “It is not a particular species. The spaces between the panels are an artistic display choice which represents the time people need in nature to replenish and remain healthy.”

Scheibe has been a resident of Ely since 2000. She owns the Front Porch Coffee and Tea Co. along with her husband, Doug. She wrote three books about her adventure paddling the length of the Mississippi River. She is self-taught and has a passion for painting murals. “It is an invigorating challenge to expand a vision and make it so big it envelopes you,” she said.

Take a mural walk

Many of Ely’s murals are located on the outside or inside of buildings around the downtown area. Some are located outside the business district and can be accessed more quickly be taking a short drive.

The Ely Mural Walk brochure, which can be found at many businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and the Ely-Winton Historical Society, offers the history, description and location of each piece of art.

Descriptions of the some of the murals:

‰Three cub room murals are located in the North American Bear Center. There were made by Maureen O’Brien in 2007 and a new one was added in 2015.

‰The Donor Wall in the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital was inspired by a photograph of a waterfall along the Fernberg Trail taken by the artist, Sharon Anderson, and completed in 2002.

‰Murals in the outside and inside of the Ely Surplus store, completed by O’Brien in 2005, features a lake scene and other natural elements. Look for birds peeking from the holes and the bear cub.

‰End of an Era, located on the Conoco station on Central Avenue, features a mining theme inspired by Ely’s proud mining history. It was completed by local attorney William E. Defenbaugh in 2000.

‰Fishing by Canoe is located on the back exterior wall of Klun Law Office and features a favorite pastime of many Elyites. Artist Ellen Remie Sauer completed the work in 2004 with assistance from Joe Seliga, Ely’s renowned canoe builder, which depicts one of his canoes, a Chestnut Prospector.

‰Windingo was completed in 2002 by Bob Cary and is located at WELY Radio on Chapman Street, and portrays canoeists passing by pictographs.

‰The Ely Post Office features two murals completed in 1940 by Elsa Laubach Jenne, a prominent Minnesota artist in her time. She used a fresco technique/egg emulsion to complete the murals, which were commissioned by the New Deal/WPA Art Project.

‰Shore Lunch was also made by Bob Cary in 2001 and faces the Zup’s Market parking lot, which features campers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

‰Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Ely Style was painted on the side of a garage behind the Front Porch by Scheibe in 2008. Inside the business is Dancing Bears, completed last year.

Art as a tourist

destination

Scheibe is seeking ways to preserve some of the exterior murals that are deteriorating due to weather and age, and also wants to solicit more artists to add more murals around Ely and to make Ely part of a national mural tour destination.

As part of her project, she talked with an artist from Ashland, Wis., Sharon Manthei, who helped develop their mural walk. “They are creating what they call the Mural Brick Road. They are collaborating with other cities that have murals and they are helping each other become tourist destinations, and it is my goal have Ely become one of those mural destinations,” she said. “We are off to a good start.”

She is actively seeking mural subjects, artists, locations and funding to add to the Ely Mural Walk. Some subject ideas could include the honoring of military veterans, depicting Ely’s logging heritage, and Native American influences.

Scheibe also wants to include a fun subject on a mural. “There is that photograph of two ladies in a carriage being pulled by two moose and I really want to have that iconic image on a mural somewhere,” she said.

Scheibe noted that John Ott, a Missouri-based develop who is breathing new life into the community with his renovation projects of historical buildings, has expressed an interest in showcasing the area’s historical culture.

“We have a lot of buildings in town that are less than attractive and need something. Putting up a mural is one way to beautify it and add to the building’s character and charm,” she said.

“This is one way to turn Ely into more of an arts community and arts destination,” Sheibe said. “There are tons of artists here and this is an untapped resource for bringing more tourists to town.”