New mural unveiled alongside Rosa’s Restaurant
- Ron Giofu
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
While driving along Sandwich St. S., a new mural has been seen in its creation.
Now, the finished product has been unveiled.
Local artist Greenlee Hawthorne-Deslippe of GreensPallet Mural Works was the lead designer and artist on the project but was joined by a team of artists on the project that is located on the side of Rosa’s Restaurant, facing the Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot.
Among the artists assisting with the project were Madison Miss, Evalette Jimmerfield, Maya Rice, Zeyad Ali, Ashlyn D’Amore, and Soumya Nagda. Rice and Ali are Windsor artists that came in to assist while three of the others are high school students with two from St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School and one from North Star High School.
Hawthorne-Deslippe explained that the mural is designed to celebrate the character, culture and spirit of the restaurant and surrounding community. She said she worked with Rosa’s owner Albert Maltese on the project.
“Albert wanted to do something very eye-catching and different,” said Hawthorne-Deslippe.
Hawthorne-Deslippe said they “ran into each other” and after discussions, came up with the idea for the mural. She was commissioned by Maltese and after seven or eight ideas were bounced back-and-forth over about a weeklong period, a final design was arrived at.
It took just over two weeks to paint, Hawthorne-Deslippe added, with that including rain days.
Many of the artists she brought in were people she knew from the University of Windsor while she put out a call to the high schools.
“I’m ecstatic with it,” she said of the mural. “I love how it came out.”
Hawthorne-Deslippe added the artists were also able to engage with the community as it was being painted.
“We got to interact with a lot of kids,” she said. “That was a lot of fun.”
This was her first large scale project, Hawthorne-Deslippe stated, but there have been smaller projects that she has worked on. She hopes the mural opens up more doors for her and her team.
“We want to make a lot more community-based project,” said Hawthorne-Deslippe. “I think when you get a good opportunity, it’s something worth sharing.”
Hawthorne-Deslippe also spoke in favour of more public art.
“I think it’s a great town and I hope we see more brightly-coloured art,” she said.
Maltese added he is also pleased with the mural.
“In the beginning, it was a lot of trusting,” he said. “I put all of my trust in Greenlee and she 100 per cent hit the mark. She is professional and knowledgeable and I’m super happy for her as well.”
Maltese said the local artists were able to show their skills and volunteer, but it also led to benefits for the community in other ways. He believed it had a positive impact in multiple ways, citing an example of one of the students landing a job with him as a result.
“We’re always trying to improve,” he said. “This has brought in some business.”
New mural unveiled alongside Rosa’s Restaurant
By Ron Giofu