The mural continues Altoona Blair County Development Corp.’s theme of the First Frontier and allows a person to become part of its action.

“People can act as though they’re holding this enormous flashlight that’s shining on the main parts of the mural,” Garber explained, talking about its content for the first time. “The beams of light shine out on the rest of what’s happening.”

Commissioned by ABCD Corp. and funded by as-yet unnamed private donations, the mural is 50 feet long and 5 feet high.

The building is owned by Pennsy Properties, a partnership between Brian Irwin and John Horell, and houses the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board and Gift Hopper at 1512-14 11th Ave. Pennsy Properties sold a lot beside this building to the city for expansion of parking at the nearby Public Safety Buildings Pennsy Properties, Horell said, resurfacing the building’s exterior for the art installation.

Artist Sarah Garber moves her scaffolding along the site of a new mural she’s creating along 11th Avenue in Altoona. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

While May rain hampered progress, recent sunshine helped and Garber said she expects to have the mural complete by the end of summer.

Steve McKnight, president and CEO of ABCD Corp., said the rear of the building at 1512-14 11th Ave. was selected because it was “the largest available wall you could see. Other walls downtown have murals on them and this was a really good newly resurfaced wall where folks can see it as you drive along Eleventh Avenue.”

ABCD Corp. reached out to Garber to do the work because of her artistic work and also because she is a downtown business owner. She owns The Clay Cup and Westfall Coffee at 1304 11th Ave.

While Garber declined to furnish a scaled design rendering, she said the Allegheny Mountains, the railroad and scenic trails are featured to showcase the area’s history and future aspirations as a recreation destination.

“The railroad is part of the past and then the present is shown through historic buildings that turn into more modern buildings that have lights in them. So you see this timeline as you move left to right. The future is all the hiking and biking trails and all the outdoorsy things that are developing over the next five to 10 years. So there are a lot of hikers, bikers in the mountains and some people fishing and kayaking.”

Artist Sarah Garber paints a flashlight on the interactive mural depicting Altoona’s journey from trail town to rail town and back again. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

As a realism artist, Garber has had her works featured on Sheetz tankers and on home decor sold through TJ Maxx. This mural’s intentional flexible design allows her to stretch her creative muscle due to its scale and mixing of styles.

“I can use my creative eye as I’m putting it up and say, ‘maybe now that it’s big and on the wall maybe I should move it a little bit to the left or right,'” she said.

Artists use a variety of techniques to translate a small scale design to real life, such as stencils or projection. A third technique, and the one Garber will use, relies on taking a scaled drawing on grid paper and using math to keep proportions uniform as it is enlarged and applied to the wall.

“I’m really excited because this is different from any of the other public art we have here currently because some of the mural will be illustrative. So, it’s a mix of both sides of me as an artist mixing this illustrative kind of bright, bold colors with realistic artwork as well,” she said. “I really wanted it to represent both sides of me because this is my permanent creative mark that I get to leave on this city and that’s really exciting.”

Sensitive that viewers of the mural will be driving by, she reduced details so the concept is more easily understood.

“I love Altoona and Blair County. I’ve owned businesses here over the past decade and I put my roots down in downtown Altoona and took a risk. I want to see this area be brought back and it is. I’ve had this front row seat to all the development. This community has rallied around my business and other businesses and supported me as an artist the last decade. They’re supporting me now as I do this big project.”

When she’s up on scaffolding installed by the City of Altoona, passersby often stop and talk to her.

“I love that. Come talk to me and ask me questions. I like talking with the community — that’s why I opened a coffee shop,” she said.

Her first step in May was to prime the wall using seven to eight gallons of white drylock prime coat to prevent moisture and mold. After consulting with professional muralists, she’ll use a high-quality exterior paint and then apply a top coat that seals and protects the finished piece from UV damage.

“I’m hoping this is the first of other art installations we can do in the city,” McKnight said. When completed, a public dedication ceremony will be held in the fall to reveal the donors.

Staff Writer Patt Keith is at 814-949-7030.