As a longtime Viroqua arts advocate and member of the Historic Preservation Commission, Karen Innis reflects on the Porch mural, exploring community collaboration, local history, and the care behind public art.

The mural on the back of the Bluedog Cycles building began as a commission, but it quickly became a conversation about what public art can be. When Fred Nelson brought the idea to me, he said, “I want to do a mural of me and my friends, dressed in costumes, in front of a Wild West days saloon.” It came from joy, friendship, and a real affection for the people around him in the community.

That was the moment where the conversation opened up. When you have the opportunity to be a patron for a public mural, there’s a responsibility that comes with it. I remember asking him: what story are you telling, and who is it for? Is it about one experience, or a gift to the community? From there the image shifted away from a personal celebration and toward something more inclusive.

The porch became the organizing idea. Porches are where people gather, talk, and watch the world go by. Porches belong to everyone. The people on the mural were Fred’s friends, but they were also people who had meaningful roles in the community, through agriculture, education, medicine, business, faith, and civic leadership. No one person can do it all, we do it together.

The mural wraps around the corner of the building, facing the post office, because it needed to feel three-dimensional and lived-in. The porch was drawn from photos of the Brown family Victorian house, built in the late 1890s, making a link to Viroqua’s history. Details like the three-dimensional newel post and the stained-glass windows were pulled directly from that house.

The painting process followed the same collaborative spirit. A small group of volunteers worked together, including a gifted quilter who suggested the classic, red-and-white quilt draped across the porch rail. The quilt and the canning jars reflect preservation, handiwork, and shared effort, values that run deep in this community.

Over time, the mural weathered and needed care. The most recent restoration, led by Sarah Pederson, respected the original intent while strengthening the work with her skills and attention to detail. A placard on the mural lists the identities of figures, which Sarah confirmed using archival materials, ensuring historical accuracy. That reinforced something I still believe: public art can capture our history, connecting people to the stories and faces that shaped the community, and caring for the art ensures those stories endure.