Weekend Showcase: Crystal Artist wins at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store
What do an award-winning artist from Crystal and Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store have in common?
A problem at Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store
Earlier this year, Crystal artist, Shawn McCann got a call from Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store just 36 miles south of Crystal on Highway 169 in Jordan. The store had a problem. The middle part of the barn felt claustrophobic with the low ceiling. Store manager, Robert Wagner set out to remedy that.
First, Wagner took the false ceiling off in an effort to open up the space. He had life-sized superhero statues and wanted to create a world for them to reside in the 80-foot structure. He enlisted the help of Shawn McCann.
“The guidelines what we wanted were fairly vague,” said Wagner. “You know, we just wanted this superhero scene and they really just took it and ran with it.”
Shawn and his team had the talent, but the time in which to create this magic was the crucial factor.
“We started this the beginning of February. Then we had to be done by the 25th of March,” said McCann. “It was quite a monumental challenge to paint 5000 square feet in such a short time and so consistently with one another.”
A total of 11 artists worked on the mural over the course of seven weeks. The used almost 12 miles of painters tape to make sure the buildings were straight inside the dome.
McCann wins award for his work
The Collaboration of Design and Art, or CODA, chose “Gotham and Beyond” as one of the top public art installations in the world.
“To be listed as one of the top 100 was amazing,” said McCann. “When they opened it up to public voting as to who the public thought was their favorite, at beginning of this month we were announced as the winner.”
