Wright County 4-H stage backdrop receives new design

As you head out to the Wright County Fair this year and enter the 4-H building, take note, in particular, to the stage, as the backdrop recently received a makeover. The previous design had been in place since 2018, displaying a logo celebrating 100 years of Wright County 4-H. When 4-H leadership decided it was time for something new after seven years, they put out a call to find someone willing to create a different design. That someone was nine-year 4-H member Chloe Lyver.  

“Up until this point, we’ve had the centennial logo, which was from 2018, and we decided we were ready to update it,” stated 4-H Extension Educator Kelly Strei. “We put out a call to community members and parents to see if anyone was interested in designing and painting the stage. Chloe came forward and said, ‘I would love to do that.’” 

Lyver, who will enter her junior year at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School this coming fall, has been involved with 4-H since 3rd grade. Chloe was originally drawn to 4-H through the organization’s dog project, where participants learn how to train a dog and ultimately compete in a show.

“Six-and-a-half of the nine years I’ve been in 4-H I’ve been involved with the dog project. It’s the reason I joined 4-H. I’ve had to stop because of my dog’s age, training and showing has gotten hard for him. I would say it was definitely my favorite part of 4-H.”

Design

An artist at heart, Chloe has been crafting art since childhood and entered a painting in last year’s Wright County Fair. When tasked with designing a new logo for the 4-H stage at the fairgrounds this year, Chloe first began developing sketches of design concepts she had in mind, incorporating the symbols of 4-H into her creation, along with her own original ideas. 

She began the project in early April, creating a mood board to help guide her along the way. Combining the trademark 4-H clover into the design was the only requirement. After that, Chloe had free artistic license for the remainder of the project. Reciting the 4-H pledge, “I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to greater service, and my heart to better living,” Chloe worked to bring those words to life through her art.

“The hearts and hands are separate pillars, but I really wanted to have them together because I feel like it’s such a symbol of togetherness. I think of the heart-hands symbol when I’m with friends. It’s such a universal symbol of community.”

One of the challenges Chloe faced while tackling the project was imposing her sketch designs onto the stage backdrop, and scale them to size to create the larger work of art. She utilized a software program to enlarge her original sketch design and transfer it to the stage. “It took 42 pieces of paper. We taped them together into strips and measured to put them up on the wall before drawing over the entire thing again. It took a long time to get it straight and to where I wanted it to be.” 

Chloe used a Posca marker (paint marker) to draw the outline and pinstriping tape to create the letters. “The tape ended up being too thick, so I took scissors and cut it in half (strips). After I had the design on the wall, I began painting. I didn’t expect the outdoor paint to need as many coats as it did, so I ended up doing about three of each color. It took a while. When I got done, I was able to peel the tape off the letters, and there they were.”

Inspiration

An artist’s imagination never stops churning, and inspiration can come from anywhere. “In April, when I was creating this design, I was on a “Frozen 2” kick. I love the artistry and how stylized everything was. I took heavy inspiration from this, including Elsa’s painted door. It gave me inspiration to look at Nordic and Celtic furniture. I was looking at the painted furniture and knotwork. It was the first thing that came to mind when I began thinking of the general design for the project.”

“We’re really excited for people to see it,” shared Kelly Strei. “We’re really proud of Chloe and so happy she was brave enough to say, ‘I want to do this,’ and step forward to make her art known.”

Next summer, Chloe is considering the possibility of adding more design to the wall space surrounding the logo, if time and scheduling allows. “I am very proud of how it turned out. It was a really fun project to do. I’ve never done a mural before. It was very different from any medium I’ve done before, but I had a lot of fun doing it. I’m very grateful to have this opportunity and to share my art like this. It’s very exciting.”