Canadian artist Tim Nijenhuis last week completed the newest mural in Downtown Alpena’s Fresh Waves Mural Project. It features shades of blue, orange, and brown geometrical shapes, and a realistic painting of the Alpena Flyer. The mural wraps around the side of the Light of Hope Clubhouse building.

“I was online looking for opportunities, to get some work lined up, and I came across the Fresh Waves program, and I applied,” said Nijenhuis, who hails from Ontario.

This was his first trip to Alpena.

“I like it,” he said. “It’s a beautiful town.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Tim Nijenhuis is seen painting the mural, at left, while Kial Wade, center, and Jason Dagner, smile for a photo. Wade is the vice president of the Light of Hope Clubhouse Advisory Board, and Dagner is a social practitioner at the clubhouse.

He explained the process of applying and designing the mural.

“When I sent my portfolio, and they were enthusiastic about getting me involved, I just did research on the town of Alpena, and I realized that there was this car that they tried to build and market, to compete with Detroit, The Alpena Flyer, so that inspired me to paint that on there,” Nijenhuis said.

The Alpena Flyer was an American automobile manufactured between 1910 and 1914 by the Alpena Motor Car Company. Approximately 480 cars were produced, and only one is known to exist today.

“That’s, kind of, my style, to create three-dimensional illusions and geometric shapes,” Nijenhuis added. “I’m a big fan of M.C. Escher, the Dutch graphic artist, that works with shapes and the metamorphosis of shapes, so that’s, kind of, behind this idea, too.”

Nijenhuis has been painting murals for about 25 years. So far, he has done about 30 in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, for a total of about 150 throughout his career.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Canadian artist Tim Nijenhuis is seen painting a mural last week at Light of Hope Clubhouse in downtown Alpena.

“I like working with large objects,” he said.

Light of Hope Clubhouse opened in the mid-1990s and has about 50 members, said Jason Dagner, a social practitioner at the clubhouse.

“We are, kind of, Alpena’s best-kept secret, when it comes to services we offer,” Dagner said. “And, we’re hoping to move past that.”

Light of Hope Clubhouse is a place for those diagnosed with mental health conditions to come together and feel a sense of community with like-minded peers.

“We are a mental health rehab and recovery program,” Dagner explained. “We’re designed to give members a place that feels like their own. We empower them to make those decisions and to work towards whatever goals they feel they need to achieve in their recovery.”

Kial Wade is vice president of the Light of Hope Clubhouse Advisory Board.

“Our members are ultimately the ones that make the decisions about what we do, and what we don’t do,” Wade said. “So, we sit down, we have meetings, we get everyone’s opinions, and so, we are very much member-run … each member is very valued by our community here.”

Dagner said the members go on social recreation trips once mid-week and on the weekends. They recently visited Dinosaur Gardens in Ossineke.

“Members are involved in giving back to the community,” Dagner noted.

For example, they recently participated in the Relay For Life at the Alpena County Fairgrounds, and they also helped distribute food at a recent Feed the Need pantry event.

Members and staff are excited to have the mural on their building.

“I think it’s amazing and awesome,” Michelle Diller, Light of Hope Clubhouse member, said about the mural. “It will bring new members to clubhouse, and attract all the passersby.”

Dagner said it took motivation and collaboration to get the mural to be painted on their building.

“Members and some of our staff took it upon themselves to talk with our landlord, and write the application for the Fresh Waves mural,” Dagner said, “in hopes that it would bring attention to our program.”

To see more murals by Nijenhuis, visit Ninehouse Productions on Facebook, or ninehouseproductions.com.