A LaSalle beautification project gave a local artist a chance to pay homage to his favourite band, and at least one member of the band decided to stop by and put a finishing touch on the piece.
The town put a call out to find eight artists to paint utility boxes as part of the Bell Boxes Murals Project.
Communities throughout the province have commissioned works to help turn the normally dull casings into something ascetically pleasing.
Local artist David Creed answered that call and took the opportunity to showcase LaSalle's biggest musical export, The Tea Party.
Artist David Creed works on a mural depicting members of The Tea Party on Divine St. in LaSalle July 24. (Photo via Instagram/@dcreedart)
"The idea behind these murals when the town sent out the applications was to paint something that was unique to LaSalle," says Creed. "My immediate thought was go with music and go with my favourite band, the Tea Party. I thought, what a great way to honour them for what they achieved over the years in their musical career."
The utility box is on Divine St. between Bouffard Rd. and Superior St. in LaSalle, not far from where the band grew up.
"Maybe six or seven streets over," shouts drummer Jeff Burrows.
He just returned from a road trip and drove straight from the airport to see Creed's work and sign it.
Tea Party Drummer Jeff Burrows signs his likeness on a mural created by artist David Creed as part of the Bell Box Murals Project on Divine St. in LaSalle July 26. (Photo via Instagram/@dcreedart)
Creed says he chose to depict the band during the release of their album Transmission in 1997 because it was the first time he caught the band live.
"When I first saw the Tea Party, it was back in London Ont., they had just put out Transmission, so this is one of the images from that era that I put up on the Bell-box," he says.
Burrows has known Creed as an artist and singer for more than 10 years now, and says he's always impressed with his work.
"You want to talk about a local guy who can capture images in his mind and be able to recreate them on any surface, so far as a Bell-box even, it's pretty amazing," he says.
Burrows told AM800 News the mural is special because, unlike many bands who make it big, the group still spends so much time in the region.
"For us [The Tea Party], we still feel close to this tight knit community, I've never left this area, so it's an honour," he says.
Burrows says he plans on getting the rest of the band to come sign the mural before they all go do their own thing at the end of the summer.
Creed has several murals in the works throughout Windsor-Essex, he's been creating original works for more than 30 years. He says urban art is growing, and it's something to embrace.
"I just finished a mural at Kingsville Brewery, that should be opening soon. I just did a war memorial in Essex right by the Spitfire commemorating WWII families and workers. That's going to be unveiled this week," he says. "It's global, and it does take awhile to catch on, but the great part is, it is catching on. Beautification of something that is visually disposable, now we've added an attractive element to a street."