Deanna Ehrhardt sits among several of her paintings, a collection called Phoebe’s Flowers, recently. Submitted photo

LEWISTON — Public Arts Committee Chair Deanna Ehrhardt has been interested in art since she was in elementary school, she said. Her mother used to draw pictures for her as a child. Her mother and her elementary school art teacher were two of her earliest inspirations.

The Montello Elementary School assistant principal is drawn to paint and mixed media art mediums, she said.

“I love incorporating collage with photo transfer, permanent marker, and paint,” she said. “My current show I am working on is all mixed media incorporating photo transfer.”

She has seen the local art scene in Lewiston pick up progress again since the pandemic ended, she said.

Which of your works has been the most impactful on others and why do you think that is? My most impactful work is all the murals I created with my students. The impact reaches into the community because it touches so many families. The students who put paint on the walls develop a whole other type of ownership of their school and the project. They get to see themselves on the news or read about themselves in the paper. The student body gets to relate and see themselves in the murals. In 2014 I began developing murals with my students at Michigan City High School, in northwest Indiana, and in the community. I left Michigan City to move to Lewiston in August 2018. The mural work continues to this day in Michigan City.

My four years at Lewiston High School, as the digital media teacher, gave me more opportunities to create murals with my students. Even through the COVID school year we continued our work.

In 2022, I began my two years at Lewiston Middle School as the dean of students. I was able to create a mural with my Civil Rights Team kids. This school year is the beginning of my assistant principal work at Montello Elementary School. I want to contribute to bringing some mural work to our school.

How does art benefit communities? Besides beautiful and interesting visuals, art brings pride to a community. It can cause a location to become a destination spot for out-of-town visitors and locals. Art brings value and ownership to a community.

In what ways have you watched the local artist community in Lewiston grow and change? We are experiencing a new momentum that the pandemic temporarily shut down. We have a relatively new gallery downtown, Munka Studio, that continues to exhibit current juried shows while also creating community events. Our Art Walks are growing as we bring in more and different artists and vendors, not to mention a few food trucks too. Our local coffee shops continue to support the arts in our community strongly.

The visuals created with new murals, painted electric boxes and sculptures in Lewiston have a significant impact on our city. The Public Arts Committee has been integral to making so many of these new visuals a reality.

Our city’s murals alone have made an instant impact on our urban landscape. Another key component of our mural success is partnering with Street Art for ME.

How does having a local art committee help local artists? Public Arts (Committee) helps push new installations and events into the community while helping to locate funding to support these projects. The committee also maintains a level of standard for public art creations in craftsmanship and content.

What is your outlook for the future of the Lewiston artist community? I’m excited to see the growth and movement in our local arts community in the next handful of years. We certainly have the momentum to keep developing initiatives. I see the arts becoming so much more prevalent in Lewiston as we continue to try to bring our community together through creativity and beauty.