T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY The new baseball themed mural at the Little League fields completed by Missy Sharer Pieters.

The Marshalltown Baseball Club is currently undergoing a renovating and revitalizing campaign at the Marshalltown Little League fields. The first completed project added a punch of some much-needed color: a baseball-themed mural on a utility shed near the baseball diamonds.

Club board member Zach Wahl and his wife Lindsey commissioned the mural. The idea was about a year in the works.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the facility hasn’t been upgraded in years. It’s had its life, right? That facility, it’s run its course. My wife and I talked about wanting to give back and do better for the community,” he said.

He reached out to the Arts + Culture Alliance for advice on what local artist would be up for the job. He found his answer in Missy Sharer Pieters.

“We had quite a few conversations, me and Missy, and she did a great job of communicating with me,” Wahl said. “I had a theme in mind of what I wanted.”

After consulting friends, family and the young baseball players, the theme of “Creating Bobcat Legends” was born.

“It was a privilege to participate, to work on this for them, and I’m just hoping we get a lot of good kids’ feedback,” Sharer Pieters said. “I work with Amber Danielson and the Alliance quite a bit. I think all of us local artists do though — it’s what I really appreciate about the Alliance. They’re good about matching up clients with the right skill sets.”

Danielson said the Alliance is thrilled to see the mural come to fruition.

“At the Arts + Culture Alliance, we strive to connect the community with local creatives, celebrate artistic expression, and help amplify the incredible talent that exists right here in our county. Projects like this are powerful reminders of how art can bring people together and enrich our shared spaces,” she said.

Wahl added he felt it was important the mural incorporate Marshalltown’s school colors: red and blue and pay homage to generations of gifted baseball players.

“We’ve had a lot of Bobcat legends that have gone through there, whether being players that went on to play in the MLB, or coaches helping out that ended up being coaches in a higher level. It all starts right there at that complex,” he noted.

The mural features popcorn, a baseball bat and ball, sunflower seeds (as per Wahl’s son’s request) and a hot dog.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
What the shed looked like before Sharer Pieters started on her project.

“Murals in general really help liven up spaces. The use of color in particular down at the Little League diamond, (helps) because there’s a lot of gray,” she said. “The building where the mural is positioned is definitely in a very good focal point. It’s one of the first things you’re going to run into or see. I think, more than anything, it just brings vibrancy to spaces that are otherwise pretty mundane. It’s not real exciting for a little kid to be real pepped up about playing a baseball game when you pull into a big gray wall.”

Sharer Pieters noted she donated the paint and half of her time to the project, while the Wahls paid for the rest. She estimated the work would take her 20 hours to do (it ended up taking 21) over the course of several days.

“I’m not professionally trained as a mural artist, and probably there’s better ways to do it, but I do all of mine by hand,” she said. “I don’t have a projector screen or anything like that to put my image up on the wall, so what I have to do is measure it out and convert an eight by 12-inch thing into an eight foot by 26 foot thing. You just have to do the math on it more than anything. It does take on a life of its own, because clearly, eight inches is way different than eight feet when you’re painting.”

With the mural completed, the baseball club is turning to other needed repairs and updates. Wahl said funding for roof repairs and other upkeep will come from organizations, individuals and businesses.

Sharer Pieters is soon to begin work on two more mural projects this summer: one in Laurel and one in Ankeny.

The Marshalltown Baseball Club can be reached at 641-854-0667 and mtownbaseball28@gmail.com.