Dear Editor,

I was greatly disappointed to read that the Architectural Heritage Board rejected the proposed Heart of Danville mural design by artist Andee Rudloff for downtown Danville. I am the visual art teacher at Memorial Elementary in Hart County and last February our school had the honor of hosting Andee thanks to a grant from VSA Kentucky.

In September, our school suffered a catastrophic loss when our beloved PE teacher, Mr. Tim Butler passed away unexpectedly. It was the desire of our school community to honor his memory and celebrate the spirit of our historic school by creating a mural to cover the office he built in the gymnasium. I knew that Andee Rudloff was exactly the person to make this vision come to life.

Andee worked with over 300 students, faculty, parents and other community members to design a work of art that was a vibrant homage to an incredible man and the legacy of our school. Our school community came together over an emotional and healing three days to create a truly unique visual representation of the Memorial spirit. Andee’s passion was contagious and her dedication to the project was unparalleled. She put in hours beyond what was contractually obligated because she believed in the power of art in a community.

Her design even spread outdoors to our playground, where we now have an incredibly exciting and eye catching mural that has become a favorite community spot for families and photographers and a real source of pride for the school. We plan to bring her back this school year to add more walls to the mural.

I urge the people of Danville to allow Andee to bring her magic to your town. Trust the vision and capabilities of this nationally recognized artist and be the “Historically Bold” town that you want to be. You will not regret it.

Sarah K. Vetter

Visual Art Teacher

Memorial School, Hart County