Bus Shelter Mural Program - Starting A Mural Project

Follow the steps below. If you have any questions regarding volunteering to paint a mural, call Dale Cummings at 206-684-1524. He'll be happy to help you get started.

Student artists at Montlake Elementary School
enjoy painting in their design.

1. Choose a bus shelter

Choose a Metro bus shelter in your neighborhood or one within King County for your mural project. It is helpful to pick one or two alternative shelters, in case your first choice is not available. Write down the shelter numbers on your application. They are located on the shelter's upper left corner as you view it from the street. Also record the street that the shelter is on, the closest cross street and the direction the bus is traveling at that bus stop (i.e., northbound).

2. Complete your application form

Complete the Application Form [.PDF 7KB], and mail it in with your design ideas to:

The Bus Shelter Mural Program
201 South Jackson St., M.S. KSC-TR-0413
Seattle, WA 98104-3856

Metro must receive your application one month before your intended start date. You will have up to 3 months to complete your mural. Keep in mind that a quality mural often takes longer than you might think! Include your shelter numbers and project dates. The application form is your agreement with Metro to complete the mural project within your scheduled time. Metro will contact you by phone to confirm your shelter reservation, project start date (when you want to pick up the panels and paint) and completion date (mural delivered back to Metro).

*If your web browser does not have a viewer defined for PDF formatted files, please download the appropriate reader, courtesy of Adobe. [external link]

Schools/Groups

If you plan to create your design with students or some other group, please describe what theme or process you will use to create your design. Metro must approve the final design on all projects. If you already have design ideas, please include them with your application.

Individual Artists

Include a color drawing of your mural design with your application form. Your design should be in the shape of the shelter panels.

Design approval usually occurs within a few days of receiving your design.

3. Metro mails Project Information Packet to you

After your application, design, and starting date have been approved, Metro will mail a Project Information Packet to you. The packet includes:

• Map and Voucher for picking up your pre-primed mural panels & paint.
• Story/Project Description Form
  Fill out this form with a story, poem or written description about your mural, and the participant's names. The information you provide will be installed in an attractive information strip and mounted in the bus shelter with your mural.
• Important information to help your project go smoothly.

4. Pick up your panels at Metro

In your Project Information Packet there is a map on your Pick-up Voucher to help you find the Metro South Facilities building. You may pick up your panels and paint at Metro on or after the pick up date written on your Voucher. Your panels and paint are available for pickup Monday-Friday, between 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. You must turn in your Pick-up Voucher to the front office at South Facilities to pick up your panels and paint. The largest mural panel is approximately 24" by 92". These 1/4" plywood panels can usually be loaded by one person into a mini van, pickup or large station wagon. If your project has been approved for upper wood panels, these 1/2" plywood panels are approximately 31"x 53", and the half-size panels for a "checkerboard" design are approximately 31"x 26".

5. Paint your mural

You will be painting your mural with water-base, acrylic latex paint in your own studio, classroom or home. Each panel is marked on the backside to indicate its TOP and the location where it will be installed on the shelter. It is important to read the information that comes in your Project Information Packet, before you start. If you have a lead artist or painting coordinator, make sure they have a copy of the Project Information Packet.

6. Lead artist responsibility

The final appearance of the mural is the responsibility of the lead artist. Some group projects may run out of time before all finishing touches are completed. It is the lead artist's or painting coordinator's responsibility to make sure that the mural is complete. Some colors are more transparent than others and will require at least a second coat to look finished. Drips, runs, unfinished or thin areas need to be corrected before the mural is returned to Metro. If you are working with youth, help them exhibit a mural that looks as special as they hope it will. Remember that most students have never painted artwork before, they want it to look special, and love to be helped. By defining lines and edges, adding highlights and shadow, or adding unusual touches, their public art experience will sparkle for years.

7. Return your mural panels and story to Metro

When you have finished your project, return your mural panels and completed story/project description and Return Form to Metro. Your written description can be in the form of a story, a poem, or a description of your theme and can include the participant's names. Your mural information signage can describe, to our bus riders and the public, who created the mural and what the mural is about. You can include the names of those who were involved, sponsors that you wish to acknowledge, a poem, a short story, quotes from the participants, or a short comment on the theme or the creative process.

Metro will apply a protective clear-coat to the mural panels and install them in the shelter within 3-4 weeks. The information sign will be installed at a later date.

If you have any questions regarding your mural project, call Dale Cummings at 206-684-1524. Or e-mail BusStop.Murals@kingcounty.gov