Published: June 11, 2008 08:06 am      

The Wellborn Country Store mural

By Wendell Snowden

Several months ago, a few Wellborn Community Association members decided to make our Blueberry Festival Country Store look more like a country store. With that goal in mind, we set out to search our back yards, garages, and our neighbors’ back yards for materials. (Our WCA president said we could do this job without spending a nickel!) We finally came up with enough material thanks to help from some Wellborn businesses and began our project.

It didn’t take long for our Country Store vision to take shape. We picked a stopping point because we did have a lot of other projects going on to prepare for the Blueberry Festival, and we figured we could resume after the 2008 Festival. But something was missing. We decided we needed a MURAL. Yes! You know - like the ones on Miami Beach, in New York City, or Chicago (and Lake City, too)!

My grandson and granddaughter were attending Lake City Community College at the time, and my granddaughter told me that she could probably get one of the art students to come out and maybe consider our project. That’s how we met Anthony. He told us to buy the materials and he would donate his time. Lots of work, paint and three weeks later, it is all finished! Well, almost. We’ll do the side panel later.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about our artist. Anthony Yazbec lives in Macclenny and is an aspiring illustrator who has loved to draw since he was a child. His grandmother was a painter who taught and encouraged him in his efforts.

Anthony has served in the Navy, attended Lake City Community College and has recently been accepted to the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. He has participated in several community volunteer efforts, and his artwork has received awards. Besides his college studies (where he has a 3.7 G.P.A.), he holds down two jobs.

If you come out and join us on June 6 and 7 at the Festival for some good, down-home entertainment, arts and crafts, blueberries, cobbler and pie, you can see our new mural, Anthony’s newest volunteer project. You can meet the artist, as Anthony will have a vendor space with some of his art for sale.

The Wellborn Community Association and the community of Wellborn thank Anthony for volunteering to paint the mural on our Country Store. We wish him the very best in attaining his lifelong dream of being a professional illustrator.