Cove artists unveil Temple’s first Downtown Art Train

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

Three members of the Five Hills Art Guild had their latest work unveiled on Saturday afternoon in downtown Temple. 
Linda Lapierre, Traci Winter and Azeita Taylor collaborated on the design for a train car, the first car in the city’s Temple Art Train Project. 
Lapierre said she’d seen the call for proposals in a local newspaper just days before the submission deadline. 
“I tried to think totally outside the box to come up with the most unique approach.  I love Sheri (Wilson’s) piece ‘Friendomies’ and asked her permission to use her painting as the proposal,” Lapierre said. “Surprisingly, I got the email from Nancy Glover that we had been accepted.”
Lapierre, Taylor, and Winter spent a total of 20 hours over three weekends to paint the train in Winter’s garage, after Wilson helped them pick out exterior paint from Home Base and explained the painting method to them.   
Lapierre and Taylor attended the unveiling in downtown Temple at the corner of Avenue A and 2nd Street. The unveiling was held during Temple’s Small Business Saturday event.
Taylor talked about what the project means for not just the city of Temple, but the area.
“I not only count it as a privilege for the Five Hills Art Guild to have been chosen to participate and be an integral part in Temple’s project, but I loved being a part of this collaborative!” said Taylor. “Bringing art to our region is a wonderful way to beautify the landscape of our communities.”  
The Copperas Cove artists’ train is called “Circa de Gato is Taken for a Ride” and the three based the design on a painting by fellow Five Hills Art Guild member Sheri Wilson.
Their proposal was selected from among six proposals received in response to a call for artists by Temple’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. 
 “We are very excited about this project and look forward to seeing these colorful works of art installed throughout downtown,” stated Nancy Glover, CVB Director, in a press release last week. “These installations will be a great attraction for downtown that will encourage continued beautification efforts as well as encourage folks to shop local.”
The project was made possible by the Anice Read Fund. Anice Read was the founder of the Texas Downtown Association, and the fund was formed in 1999 to honor her legacy and her contributions to Texas downtowns. The grants awarded from this fund are used for a wide variety of purposes including physical projects, professional development, and/or program development.
In December 2017, the city of Temple was awarded an Anice Read Grant in the amount of $4,000, with Temple earmarking the funds for the Temple Art Train Project, which features four-feet long by two-feet wide replicas of steam engines, which artists may paint or embellish however they wish. 
More trains in downtown Temple will be unveiled over the next several weeks.