CVU student Cole Glover works on his mural on a stretch of barricade around the CityPlace project in Burlington. Glover, of Hinesburg, was the youngest artist chosen to participate in the public art project. Courtesy photo.

A dormant pit at the center of the stalled CityPlace project in downtown Burlington has been reinvigorated with artistic life recently, and one local high school student has made his unique mark.

Champlain Valley Union High School senior Cole Glover was selected alongside 24 other area artists to paint murals onto the barriers that line the barren construction site of Bank and Cherry Streets in early October.

“From the arts perspective, we thought of it as an opportunity to highlight the diversity of the talent that is in Vermont,” explained Sara Katz, assistant director at Burlington City Arts which executed the project initiated by the Burlington Community and Economic Development Office. “We want people to come through our downtown and feel that there was something exciting and inspirational to see, to feel that there was a reason to go down these streets.”

The stylistic array of murals accomplishes both goals.

All along the construction site wall, the average passerby can appreciate paintings of a sunset over the Adirondacks, a chicken on a motorcycle, and a flailing octopus; — all unique concepts by the artists who conceived them.

The curious style of Glover’s motorcyclist chicken had its origins in his childhood.

“When I was a kid there was a book that my parents used to read to me called Captain Slaughterboard, and I always have been super-interested in its illustrations,” the student artist said. “Some of the style was influenced by that, and I also have developed a love for cross-hatching and detailed ink.”

As for the chicken itself, the jury is still out.

“The whole chicken riding a motorcycle thing—I wouldn’t know how to explain where that came from exactly, it’s just something I thought of," he added.

A student at both CVU and Burlington Technical Center, Glover first heard of the mural opportunity through his design and illustration teacher at BTC. Drawn by the opportunity to paint on such a large scale, Glover was selected as the youngest contributor out of some 80 other applicants. He earned a panel on the barrier as his canvas and a $1,000 materials’ stipend.

He recalled the early October day of the mural’s installation fondly. Despite chilly temperatures and blustery winds, BCA staff paced the streets with hot coffee and fresh donuts to fuel the artists through their processes. In addition, project organizers intentionally wedged Glover between two of the more well-renowned muralists as a learning opportunity for the budding artist.

“Me being the youngest one, they thought I could learn from [the other artists], and I definitely did. It was a really cool experience,” Glover said.

The project was not without criticism directed not specifically at the artworks but at the location and the status of the development project stopped in its tracks by political and bureaucratic wrangling. Some naysayers knocked the attempt to beautify the City Place site where the former shopping mall was demolished to make way for a future retail, office and apartment complex.

“There were a lot of people that were against this project, they thought it was ‘putting lipstick on the pig,’ as they would say,” Glover explained.

“I understand their point and I agree with them in some ways, but I think that when there is an opportunity to put more art in people’s lives, that is always a positive, no matter the circumstances.”