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Last chance to see window art at Gibbons

Gibbons company artists Nikki Murrary ( Photo by Glenn Tucker )

Today is your last chance to see a display of urban window art in the City of Hamilton.Since April Gibbons Company has used the work of 14 different artists in the community in the Church Street and Reid Street to decorate the windows of their retail stores. The art includes everything from mosaics, oil paintings, and pastels to sculpture (inside the store), stained glass and murals. It has literally stopped traffic, and given local artists a boost in these hard economic times. The art will come down on today, although the murals will be up for the rest of the summer.Some of the artists included are well known in the community, while others, just as Michelle Lindo, 28, are just emerging.“I am just finishing up a Master's Degree in art and I am getting myself settled again in Bermuda,” she said. “I produced a colourful spray painted animal mural for the children’s department on Church Street. I have been working with children in Cyprus as part of my Masters programme, so it was fun doing the children’s section at Gibbons. The company wanted something colourful to carry on to the end of summer. For children, I thought they would enjoy animals.”As she was placing the animal stencils to spray paint, passing children would give her the thumbs up to say ‘you put it in the right place’. Every child that passed with their parents would stop and look.“That made me feel great because it was just for them,” said Miss Lindo.“The murals were painted directly in the window,” said Joan Spurling who works in advertising and events at Gibbons Company. “When it was first happening there was a lot of traffic watching the artists paint. That really drew a lot of attention.”Another artist featured was Nikki Murray-Mason who included intricate three-dimensional mosaics in the Reid Street window of the men’s department at Gibbons.“I have had a lot of people call or e-mail or mention that they were stopping by,” said Ms Murray-Mason. “I have had a lot of inquiries about purchasing pieces. I have seen tourists stop and take photos of the windows. A lot of artists in Bermuda find it really hard to find somewhere to display their work once it is finished, so this is great exposure for local artists. More opportunities like this would be great.”She teaches at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation and also paints in oils. Whatever she does she is known for her heavily textured approach. She currently has her art on show at Muse, a restaurant on Front Street.“It was interesting to see that everyone had their own style,” said Ms Spurling. “We had a good variety of art.”Other artists included were Chris Dawson, Belinda Tartaglia, Vanessa Turner and many others.

Gibbons company artists Michelle Lindo (