The SpokeSman • TueSday, July 19, 2022 A3
Mural brightens building
in downtown Redmond
BY LEO BAUDHUIN
Redmond Spokesman
Bend artist Evan Namkung
had just started filling in the
eyes on his great horned owl
mural when a man walked
up to him. So Namkung put
his paint down for a second
to chat.
It wasn’t a rare occurrence
for Namkung as he worked on
the project.
“Doing it on such a busy
street and having people walk-
ing by — it’s just really fun,” he
said. “It’s more fun than sitting
alone in a room and painting
by yourself. You’ve got people
to talk to. You’ve got people to
interact with.”
He had been stationed on
the sidewalk of SW Evergreen
Ave. since July 9 and planned
to work on the project
through July 17. Instead, he
ended up working long hours
and through the weekend to
finish on July 13 — four days
ahead of schedule.
Namkung’s mural is the sec-
ond recent artwork to go up
near the intersection of Ever-
green Ave. and Sixth Street.
The two pieces — Nam-
kung’s great horned owl and
a “Greetings from Redmond
Oregon” postcard-style mu-
ral across the street — mark a
new era in Redmond’s public
art scene.
“It’s exposing people to art
when they least expect it,” said
Jackie Abslag, programs coor-
dinator with Redmond’s com-
munity development depart-
ment. “I think it adds a really
pretty aspect to downtown.”
Namkung described his
style as detailed focused and
street-inspired — something
he attributed to growing up in
Oakland, California. He’s nor-
mally drawn to painting peo-
ple and nature, he said.
For the Redmond mural
project, Namkung wanted to
showcase an animal from the
area. He thought about paint-
ing a pronghorn, among a
couple other ideas, but said he
settled on an owl “because I
thought it’d be really dynamic
to have it flying.”
He also opted out of a
smaller mural in favor of dec-
orating the entire side of the
building.
nick Rosenberger
BasX Solutions were presented with an award from the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution for their patriotism on Thursday,
July 14, at their headquarters in Redmond.
BasX presented with
award for flying the
American flag
leo Baudhuin/Spokesman
Muralist Evan Namkung on July 13 completed his great horned owl painting on the corner of Southwest
Evergreen Avenue. & Southwest Sixth Street.
photo by nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
The building on Southwest Evergreen Avenue before the mural.
“I wanted to use as much of
the space as possible,” Nam-
kung said. “Make it bright and
colorful and really tie it into
some of the local wildlife and
landscape around the area
here.”
Abslag said the Redmond
Commission for Art in Public
Places worked for three years
on the code to allow murals
in town, before city council
passed it in June 2021.
RCAPP chair Dan Mooney
said the commission wanted
to create a mural in Redmond.
It held a competition to deter-
mine who would get to paint
the piece. RCAPP offered a
$10,000 prize for the winner.
Larry and Debra Peterson —
owners of the Printing Post,
where the mural was painted
— threw in another $2,500 to
cover costs.
“We absolutely thought it
would be a great idea,” Debra
Peterson said, “and it’s a great
addition to downtown.” She
said contributing money to
the project felt like a way to
give back to the Redmond
community, especially as the
owner of a company that had
received grant funding from
the city.
The competition garnered
roughly 20 submissions, ac-
cording to Mooney. RCAPP
narrowed the field across
three meetings.
When he cast his vote,
Mooney said he was specifi-
cally looking for color, a de-
sign that would fill up a large
portion of the wall, and a
landscape or nature design.
Eventually, he and a majority
of RCAPP sided with Nam-
kung, who had experience
painting another mural in
downtown Bend.
Mooney said he’s happy
with the result. He said the
new mural brings color to
downtown Redmond, replac-
ing what used to be a bland,
gray wall.
As he painted, Namkung
said he noticed people stop-
ping at the postcard mural
across the street and taking
pictures, which he appreci-
ated.
“Public art, whether it’s mu-
rals or sculptures or whatever
it is, it’s a gathering place,”
he said. “It draws people in.
It creates some identity for a
town or city.”
Namkung showcases his art
on his Instagram @evan.nam-
kung and on his website evan-
namkung.com.
█
Reporter: lbaudhuin@
REDMOND
National Night Out set for August 2
Spokesman staff
The Redmond Police De-
partment will host a National
Night Out community event
on Tuesday, August 2 from
6-8 p.m. at Centennial Park.
National Night Out is an
annual community-building
campaign, the goal of which is
to promote police-community
partnerships and camaraderie.
The August 2 event is free to
attend and will include fam-
ily-friendly activities, drinks
and a barbecue while supplies
last.
There will be K-9 demos,
Dunk-a-Cop tank, face paint-
ing, activities for all ages, live
music, bouncy houses, emer-
gency service vehicles on dis-
play and much more.
RPD community partners
will host information and ac-
tivity booths and there will
even be a doughnut eating
contest, so come prepared to
take on the department’s fin-
est.
“This is a wonderful op-
portunity to meet the ded-
icated men and women of
your Police Department who
proudly serve Redmond,”
Daughters of the
American
Revolution reward
company’s
patriotism
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Drive along Highway 97
into Redmond and you can’t
miss the American flag flap-
ping in the wind in front of
BasX Solutions. For those
driving from Bend or fur-
ther south, it’s the first sign
they’ve entered Flag City,
USA.
And, on Thursday, July
14, BasX Solutions was rec-
ognized for this patriotism
by members of the Daugh-
ters of the American Revo-
lution.
“It’s such a special thing
they do,” said Theresa Pit-
man, the second vice-re-
gent for the Bend chapter of
DAR. “It’s important what
they do for the community.”
A service organization
comprised of women who
are direct descendants of
those who fought in the rev-
olutionary war, Daughters
of the American Revolution
has 185,000 members with
the mission to “promote his-
toric preservation, education
and patriotism.”
Pitman and DAR also
presented Peterson Cat of
Redmond and Prineville’s
Band of Brothers honor
guard with an award for pa-
triotic presentation of the
flag.
Founded by Matt Tobol-
ski, Ph.D, and Dave Ben-
son, BasX Solutions is one
of the largest employers
in Redmond, according to
Redmond Economic De-
velopment, Inc. The com-
pany manufactures and
produces HVAC systems
for industrial, commercial
and government facilities
as well as manufacturing
cleanroom environments
and cooling systems for
data centers.
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@
redmondspokesman.com
Dermatology clinic
expands in Redmond
advanced practitioners —
will serve patients for medi-
The Bend Dermatology
cal dermatology conditions.
Clinic will build
The clinic currently
a new office in
employs 70 people
Redmond, with
throughout its multi-
plans to break
ple locations.
ground on a new
“It’s been our priv-
building at 440
ilege to care for the
NW Maple Ave.
dermatological needs
Construction
of this community
is expected to be- Delgado
since 1980. Our in-
gin this fall, with
vestment in a new,
modern medical facility to
the new location slated to
open in 2023. Once finished, better serve the greater Red-
the clinic will have triple the mond community further
solidifies our commitment
capacity of its current Red-
to the region,” said Dr. Wil-
mond location.
liam Delgado, medical di-
Starting Aug. 1, the prac-
tice will temporarily relocate rector.
For more information,
to an interim office at 111
visit Bendderm.com or call
NW Larch Ave. There, six
541-382-2605.
dermatology providers —
including four board-certi-
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
fied dermatologists and two
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
█
photo courtesy Redmond police
Redmond Police Department will host a National Night Out on August 2. The community event include
family-friendly activities, drinks and a barbecue.
said Mayor George Endi-
cott in a release. “The safety
of our community depends
on a strong partnership be-
tween law enforcement and
its neighbors, and events like
National Night Out solidifies
those relationships.”
For additional event in-
formation visit www.red-
mondoregon.gov/National-
NightOut. To get involved,
contact Lieutenant Jesse Pe-
tersen at 541-504-3473 or
jesse.petersen@redmondore-
gon.gov.
█
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
Get great
service &
great rates.
Joe A Lochner Ins Acy Inc
Joe A Lochner, Agent
www.joelochner.com
Redmond, OR 97756
Bus: 541-548-6023