Construction Diaries #15

We wanted to tell you a little more about the meaning of the mural and let you meet the artists. The concept was designed by Laura Posterick, our daughter/marketing director/interior designer/everything-er, and the design was brought to life by the immensely talented Sandra Gutierrez Kirby. We couldn’t be more excited to make this little building we call home more uniquely ours thanks to the SEK Art Fest.

Meet the designer: Laura Posterick

Hi, I’m Laura Posterick, the Marketing Director (and so much more) for Signet. I live in Minneapolis, MN and come down a few times a year to visit Pittsburg. You may have seen me while painting the lettering on the front of our building almost a year ago. I designed the space downstairs and helped design the loft upstairs. When word of a mural came around, I was very excited for the opportunity.

Here’s a little bit about the meaning of the mural and how I was inspired for this design.

One of our favorite things about coffee is that it brings people together. And its very beginnings are just as beautiful as the relationships and conversations it inspires. Lush, coffee trees grow and beautiful white blooms pop up and give way to vibrant cherries that ripen from green, to yellow, to orange, to red. Inside of each cherry is 2 coffee beans. When ready, the cherries are harvested and the beans are stripped of their outside and dried. Then those green beans come to us. We roast and brew them to perfection so you can enjoy them. You always get to see the end product, but we wanted you to see more of the beauty in the beginning. And now you can! Sandra brought my design to life and I couldn’t be more honored to have it on the side of the building to add even more vibrance and excitement to the community.

Meet the muralist: Sandra Gutierrez Kirby

Originally, I tell people I was raised in Scott City, a small town in western Kansas, population of about five thousand. I wasn’t born there but my family moved there when I was in the 8th grade. I have always had an interest in art; drawing, doodling, and sketching.

In high school my interest piqued when taking art classes. My teacher, Mr. Ellis, was amazing and he gave me the opportunity to work with different mediums. I by no means felt like I was an artistic prodigy, but I knew I loved art and creating it. It was hard to believe I could “be an artist” since I felt overshadowed by my older brother who had a natural gift as one. Nonetheless, I continued painting and sketching during college, nothing serious, but it was a means of centering myself and finding an outlet to express myself, especially when life became stressful.

After moving to Pittsburg, I became more involved with my husband’s love of clay. He’d been a potter since college and had started up HippyClay Pottery. I was fascinated with artwork he created and tried to help him with his work. My painting had taken a back seat to clay for quite some time. I found that I enjoyed learning how to throw pottery on the wheel, make sculptures, and jewelry.

I’ve had the chance to come back to painting by being involved with the SEK Art Fest. In 2016 I was asked to sit in on the committee and be part of Pittsburg’s chance to bring more art to the community by offering local artists to participate in projects (coal buckets, concrete animals, footballs, etc) that are auctioned off. The money raised goes back into the community by sponsoring artists when they are selected to participate in an art project for our community or donated to local art projects.

We (Alan Kirby and I) have been members of the ArtForms Gallery since it opened two years ago. We both have different styles of design but complement each other’s work. We have offered classes and display our work at the gallery. In addition to Alan having been a participant of the ArtWalk every year, we also became involved with the Pittsburg ArtWalk Organizers last year. The committee is amazing and strives to give the community an artistic outlet event that is held twice a year. It features local area artists, musicians, businesses, and more importantly it creates an atmosphere of artistic fun and involvement for the entire community to enjoy.

I’ve been a fan of Signet Coffee Roasters since I bought the first bag of coffee! I’m sipping on it right now! My husband has been involved with them when he was asked to make handcrafted ceramic mugs for them with their signature logo that they promote at the coffee shop. So when they moved buildings, the mural project was underway and I half joking said, “you’re building would be a great spot for a mural”. Later, they took me up on the idea and asked if I’d be interested to be the muralist. Of course I said yes! It’s my first mural and the largest project I’ve undertaken. I knew I wanted to do it and had no doubt that it’d be an exciting opportunity. My family, ArtForms Gallery friends, and the community have been so supportive in this project. I’m lucky to have had this opportunity and my only hope is that it beautifies not only the business itself, but the city as a whole. The design is colorful and fun, showing the different stages of color and ripeness of the coffee bean and I hope Signet can be proud of the finished mural. Maybe later on, years from now, it’ll be a faded ghost sign, but the community will remember how beautiful it was in its youth.