The City of St. Charles hosted a ribbon cutting for a brand new mural at Smitty’s On the Corner off of Main Street and Riverside Avenue on Oct. 9. The mural, “Blue Eyes and Butterflies,” was commissioned by local nonprofit organization Kendall’s Kindness and painted by Geneva artist Catherine Tilly.
Kendall’s Kindness was started by Kim and Jim Maffia in honor of their daughter, Kendall Maffia, who died by suicide in 2021. The organization is dedicated to spreading kindness within the local community and raising awareness for suicide prevention. Kendall’s Kindness worked with the St. Charles Arts Council to commission a mural in honor of Kendall.
“The [St. Charles Arts Council] sent out a request for proposals from local artists and I got their email blast,” said Tilly. “Once I read about it and I looked at Kendall’s Kindness, I just felt a tug on my heart that this was supposed to be.”
The mural commemorates Kendall in many of its elements, including the words “Be Kind, Pass It On” and “Be the reason someone smiles today” written in her handwriting.
“[Tilly’s] design beautifully captured Kendall’s blue eyes on the magnificent fox, incorporates her handwriting,…features hearts from our logo and reflects Kendall’s love for butterflies,” said Jim Maffia in his speech at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “The blue butterfly in the top left corner represents Kendall.”
Tilly began working on the mural in late September, first pulling ideas from Kendall’s Kindness and sketching out the design composition.
“I read all about Kendall and I looked at her art, and I knew they wanted butterflies,” said Tilly. “[Kendall’s Kindness] wanted that picture-taking opportunity, and I wanted it to be more than just wings. I wanted it to be immersive, like, ‘Oh, if I want to sit in front of these flowers and take a picture there, or if I want to stand by the fox or the hummingbird,’…I knew that I just wanted these beautiful butterflies and then this kind of pop art flowers, and I just took it from there.”
She notes that working in downtown St. Charles has made it fun to see the mural’s impact on the community so far.
“I had a couple people who would go by every day on their jog or their bike ride…One man stopped me the other night. He was going to dinner, and he said, ‘I have gone by every day, and I just want you to know that it makes my day.’ So that was pretty sweet,” said Tilly. “Hopefully people sitting at the intersection, who knows what they’re thinking of, [will be cheered up by the mural].”
Members of Kendall’s Kindness reflected on the organization and their work at the ribbon cutting, expressing gratitude for the community support.
“We just want to thank everyone for being here. This turnout is amazing. Without this, none of this would be possible,” Jim Maffia told the crowd in his speech. “Your guys’ love and support is amazing and is what keeps us going.”
More information about Kendall’s Kindness and their work in St. Charles is available on their website.
