Greensboro student artist’s work featured in local park

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Many artists look forward to an opportunity to have their work enjoyed by people from all walks of life.

A University of North Carolina at Greensboro college student can already add that to her resume.

Art student Destiny Turner painted the mural that is featured in Robert F. Mayer Park in Greensboro.

"It fulfills everything I've been wanting to do as an artist," Turner said.

The park was established in 1973.

Greensboro city leaders recognized it was outdated and had been working on a years-long project to update it to meet modern needs.

"When I first came out here, it was completely demolished, so I didn't even have a concept really of what it was going to look like," Turner said.

Turner was one of six students who presented designs to leaders at the Greensboro Project Space as a proposed mural for the park.

"I saw this as a good way for me to get more experience," she said.

Turner's work, which is inspired by the history of quilting, was selected as the winning design.

"It's an art form that connects people together like the bonding of generations type of connotation that it has and also in the different patterns and motifs that are consistent throughout all of them, so I wanted to have a shared history to [accompany] our new shared space," she said.

Turner joined city leaders for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome a new chapter for the families and students who live in the Brice Street Neighborhood.

"Turning art ... That's been something that's such a personal thing to me and making it something that can be a part of a community for a long time ... means everything to me," Turner said.

Turner is in her junior year at UNCG and hopes to do more work related to public art in the future. It's a goal that was also inspired by the way she saw art incorporated into public spaces while studying abroad in Florence, Italy, last year.

Robert F. Mayer Park is located at 135 Poe St. in Greensboro.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.

STORY: :: Art conservators begin the painstaking processof restoring Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' masterpiece:: Amsterdam, Netherlands:: Taco Dibbits, Rijksmuseum director"Rembrandt painted with a very clear contrast between light and dark and that had become far less obvious in the painting. So I think that once it's restored it will have much more depth and the figures in the painting will come to life." // "The painting will decide the pace so we can't say well it's ready in a year or it's ready in two years. No I think the varnish removal will probably be around a year and then you can really see what the damages are, how we have to restore it in the best way possible and that will take several years."In the first five-year stage of work, which included researching the delicate process of varnish removal, the 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) by 14.8 feet (4.5 meters) canvas was re-stretched.The next stage of "Operation Night Watch," the most extensive restoration of the artwork, also will help preserve the painting for future generations and repair any damage.A tissue impregnated with a very small amount of solvent is placed on the paint surface and the varnish dissolves, said restorer Ige Verslype, showing how the yellowish tint had been removed.The Rijksmuseum, the most popular gallery in the Netherlands, is visited by more than 2 million people annually.