DUNMORE, Pa. — When the owner of Carmella's Cucina, Carm Griguts, saw the completed mural on the wall outside of her business in Dunmore, it brought tears to her eyes.
"I called it the COVID cure for saving my building, my business."
A family member recently gave her a photo of her grandfather's village in Italy, and artist Mark Perry was able to bring that picture to life.
"It just uplifted us. We needed color. We needed some art and beauty from all the sadness we've been dealing with," said Griguts.
It's one of nine murals completed so far as part of an effort by a nonprofit organization in Dunmore called "The Mosaic Project."
The goal of the group is to turn "the broken into the beautiful."
Member John Occhipinti says the murals bring people together.
"People will stop by, and they'll talk to the artist, and they'll talk to the owner of the building. And it just puts smiles on their faces and makes them happy."
"You can't help but stop at the stop sign and smile," said Griguts.
While you'll certainly find plenty of murals adorning walls of buildings all over the borough of Dunmore, you'll also find some artwork in some rather unlikely places, proving that even a concrete divider in a parking lot can become a canvas.
Occhipinti says he's noticed neighbors making an effort to keep the borough cleaner and brighter.
"What happened is, it's basically a ripple effect. Organically, when we start doing murals, we start seeing more clean-ups."
The Mosaic Project plans to fund two or three more mural installations this year.
To donate to their efforts, click here.