Artists Transform Swastika Graffiti into Friendly Works of Street Art
Instead of the community having to look at ugly hate symbols every day, this team of artists is making sure that they see cute animal and plant illustrations.
A year ago, we introduced you to an artist who began transforming an old neighborhood by painting the drab homes with vividly cheerful colors-and now she's unveiled her latest street of 63 "rainbow homes".
Tash Frootko has been painting houses in Gloucester since 2018, providing free makeovers for entire streets and several squares within the city in southwest England.
Locals say it has not only created a better atmosphere for positive living but has even pushed home values up by 30 percent-which is also great for Tash, who works as a property developer.
Now she has unveiled her fifth and largest project to date: 63 houses on Hopewell Street painted in bold and vivid colors.
The 44-year-old long-time Gloucester resident says her efforts demonstrate what an individual with a vision can achieve.
"I started these transformations because there was such negative morale about the appearance of the city."
The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
"It was like, Tash appeared from nowhere and turned our street into a work of art," said Rob Wilks, who has lived here for 63 years.
"The tireless work she does behind the scenes to fix the issues of the street before adding her signature colors is admirable."
Tash says the backdrop for her artistry has been there all the time. "It just needed a creative mind and a huge injection of color."
"My projects get more exciting every time, and I seem to have a template and formula that works.
After self-funding the home make-overs for years, her success attracted funding this year from Gloucestershire County Council, which will cover some of the expenses.
"I will continue to work completely voluntarily so that every penny of funding goes towards making the area shine."
Brigitte Wurfel-Mathurin, who has lived on Barton Street for 37 years, described the change as "life-changing".
"She has created a kaleidoscopic masterpiece here-and another landmark for Gloucester. It makes me feel so proud to say that I live in Barton and Tredworth."
Tash's project began five years ago when she painted the houses on a small street to "reinvigorate" the local area with creativity. Since then, 134 houses have been wrapped in her eye-popping color palette with over 1,300 liters of paint.
She's always envisioning new plans to transform other parts of the city using simple paint to create huge "outdoor art galleries."
This year, the work included a huge floral mural by street artist Sophie Mess, murals by Stuart Doust, a quirky door installation, and a rainbow staircase.
"There is no end to this lady's ability," gushed Wurfel-Mathurin. "Her remarkable vision and drive is phenomenal and she takes the community on the adventure with her.
"She has bought love, fun, color and laughter to the street," said Wilks. "We can't thank her enough for that."
Watch the wonderful video below…
PAINT SMILES on Your Friends' Faces By Sharing The Inspiration on Social Media…
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