Alpharetta's Webb Bridge Park tunnel gets $30,000 nature mural

Sarah Emerson is turning a dim concrete tunnel at Webb Bridge Park into a walk-through painting of the woods around it.

The artist, who teaches at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, is midway through a $30,000 nature mural inside the Alpharetta park's pedestrian tunnel. The design wraps the passage in native plants, flowers, butterflies, a sleeping fawn, a hummingbird, an owl, a cardinal and a blue-sky panorama of the trees visible just outside.

Emerson told the North Atlanta Star on Thursday, Oct. 1, that the tunnel's shade makes the work harder than expected. The interior stays dark even during the day, and humidity has slowed additional coats of paint.

"It's just about kind of taking solace in your natural surroundings and paying attention," Emerson said.

The mural also draws on Henry David Thoreau's essay "Walking." Emerson plans to weave the line "All good things are wild and free" into the finished piece.

Funding and approval

The Alpharetta City Council approved the project at its Sept. 14 meeting, Appen Media reported. The $30,000 budget covers $10,000 for tunnel preparation and $20,000 for artist compensation. Three partners are splitting the cost: the Natural Resources Commission contributed $2,000, Arts Alpharetta added $6,000 and the city's Cultural Services Division covers the rest.

Natural Resources Commission Chair Mike Buchanan said the commission pitched the idea after deciding some of its budget could go toward public art that promoted its mission of protecting natural resources.

Before she started painting, Emerson walked the park's trails and spent time beside the pond watching turtles. Looking through the tunnel toward the trees shaped her approach. She refined the concept through rounds of review with the commission, Arts Alpharetta and the city's Public Art Review Committee.

The finished piece joins a growing collection. Alpharetta already has dozens of sculptures and murals on paths and walls across the city, according to Kim Zane, the city's cultural services manager.

What to watch for

Emerson has a late-October deadline but said she typically finishes murals in two to two and a half weeks. She expected the tunnel to look noticeably different the week of Tuesday, Oct. 6, as painting continues.

The city plans to fold the mural into its public art maintenance program. Residents can watch the work in progress at Webb Bridge Park, off Webb Bridge Road in Alpharetta. No formal unveiling has been announced.